Lack of trust and war with Iraq set to dominate Davos agenda

Date: 23/01/03

By Karen Carstens

IF THE latest statistics are anything to go by, most people in the world trust their top politicians and executives no more than a father does his daughter's first date.

So it is only fitting that the World Economic Forum (WEF) kicks off its 33rd annual meeting today (23 January) at Davos under the theme of 'building trust'.

"The confidence of people to master the situation has been lost," said Klaus Schwab, the Geneva-based Forum's founder and president. "We are working at the moment against a very negative climate."

More than 2,000 business and political leaders from 98 countries will descend upon the remote Swiss Alpine town for six days of brainstorming aimed at solving the world's most pressing problems. Not least among those is the threat of a US-led war on Iraq. Colin Powell, secretary of state, is set to head the American contingent, along with John Ashcroft, the attorney-general.

Former US President Bill Clinton and Microsoft boss Bill Gates have also been invited to the forum, which will be protected by as many troops and police as participants, at a cost of some €10 million.

The EU is also wheeling out some of its big guns: Javier Solana, the Union's foreign policy chief, Pat Cox, European Parliament president, and Commissioners Mario Monti, competition, Erkki Liikanen, enterprise, David Byrne, health and consumer protection, Viviane Reding, education and culture, and Michel Barnier, regional policy, will be among those taking part.

Against the backdrop of increasing tensions in the Middle East, nine prominent Iraqis will arrive at the summit on Tuesday, (28 January). The group, some of whom live in Iraq, will debate how democracy might evolve in their home country. The nine include Adil Abdul Mahdi, president of the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution, and Adnan Pachachi, former foreign minister.

The main theme of Davos, however, is the need to rebuild trust in business. The gathering will explore corporate challenges, global economy, global governance, security and geopolitics and trust and values.

According to a Gallup International poll of 36,000 citizens across 47 countries on six continents, national legislative bodies and big companies are bottom of the trust league.

Respondents were asked to rate how 17 different institutions operate "in the best interest of society". The highest levels of trust are enjoyed by the armed forces, non-governmental organisations and the United Nations, the survey found.

Another just-completed global public opinion poll, conducted by Toronto-based Environics International with the WEF's backing, examined the trustworthiness of leaders. Almost across the board, they received lower ratings than the institutions they lead in the view of 15,000 respondents questioned in 20 countries.

The survey asked respondents how much they trust leaders "to manage the challenges of the coming year in the best interests of you and your family".

Heads of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are the only ones to enjoy the trust of a clear majority, followed by United Nations and spiritual and religious leaders.

Further down the list are the leaders of Western Europe, managers of the global and national economy, and executives of multinational firms - each trusted by only a third of citizens. Least trusted of all are the leaders of the United States.

"There are three key take-aways from the survey: declining public trust appears to be a leadership problem more than an institutional reform issue, regaining trust will largely require changing policies and directions to better reflect citizen aspirations and leaders of NGOs, the UN and religious groups will need to be included as part of any solution," said Doug Miller, president of Environics International.

Anti-globalisation and anti-war protestors will hold a demonstration in Davos on Saturday. At the same time, Friends of the Earth International and other NGOs are holding their own 'anti-Davos' meeting - the third annual World Social Forum (WSF) - in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Organisers expect some 30,000 delegates representing 5,000 organisations from 121 countries to participate in the event, which will include a march against the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) on 27 January.

"Multinational companies involved in the World Economic Forum are abusing their economic power and political influence when they meet with politicians and government officials behind closed doors during the annual meeting in Davos," said Ricardo Navarro, chair of Friends of the Earth International, which is also organising a 'Public Eye on Davos' counter-conference.

Stung by such criticism, the WEF has responded by holding a public debate on fair trade, globalisation, and children's and workers' rights, among other topics, in a Davos secondary school.

Called 'Open Forum Davos 2003', the event will be led by civil society groups, including churches and NGOs, and will be webcast on the Forum's website (www.weforum.org).

The discussions will be conducted in German and English with simultaneous translation in both languages.

European Voice editor Dennis Abbott will host a panel discussion on the euro today (23 January) at the main summit, with finance ministers Bosse Ringholm (Sweden), Thor Pedersen (Denmark), Didier Reynders (Belgium) and Ali Babacan (Turkey), alongside chairmen of banks in Sweden, Denmark and Switzerland.

Preview of the World Economic Forum's 33rd annual meeting, Davos, Switzerland, 23-28 January 2003.

http://www.weforum.org/ http://www.weforum.org/

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