Wow. What a collection of Bigwigs! The World Economic Forum is meeting in Davos, Switzerland for its annual meeting. Jay Nordlinger of National Review has begun his annual coverage, and he includes a beginning list of notables:
Davos, Switzerland — A pleasure it is to write to you from the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum, high up here in the Alps. As you may know, this meeting takes place every January, in Davos, Switzerland — home of the Magic Mountain, site of the revered Thomas Mann novel. (And someday I’ll get through it — right after Bleak House.)
In years past, I have described Davos as a fairytale setting, or a shakeup globe. It looks this way more than ever now. When I pulled in, it was snowing, and I saw a horse-drawn sleigh. It seemed almost too ideal to be real. But real it was, and is. The pine trees (or whatever one is supposed to call them) are groaning with snow, looking like umbrellas, being folded down.
But when did Impromptus get so poetic?
The Annual Meeting always has a theme, and this year it’s “The Power of Collaborative Innovation.” There are sub-themes too, such as “Business: Competing While Collaborating,” and “Geopolitics: Aligning Interests across Divides.” There also seems to be a special focus on water: no, not which is better, Evian or Dasani, but problems related to water worldwide. I know that water is an important subject — but it has ever seemed snoozy to me.
And speaking of water, there are several “wellness” centers here, and they seem to include water treatments. One such center has a catchphrase: “Eau-là-là.” Cute, huh?The meeting has seven co-chairmen, or “chairs,” as they’re inevitably called, and they include Tony Blair and Henry Kissinger. Mr. Blair’s successor is here too: Gordon Brown. Other heads of state, or government, include Musharraf of Pakistan (at a critical juncture, to put it mildly), Karzai of Afghanistan, Yushchenko of Ukraine, Arroyo of the Philippines, and Uribe of Colombia. (Sounds like I’m saying “Lawrence of Arabia,” doesn’t it?) Queen Rania of Jordan is here, too.
Among the foreign ministers are Kouchner of France (an endlessly interesting man), Livni of Israel, and . . . Mottaki of Iran.
The “business community” includes Bill Gates, of course, and Michael Dell, of course — and Hugh Grant. No, not the charming anorexic-seeming actor who got busted with a hooker in L.A. — the chairman, president, and CEO of the Monsanto Company. Although I think the actor Hugh Grant would have a really good time here in Davos.
Couple more participants from England, besides Blair and Brown: “Red Ken” Livingstone, the mayor of London; and the Duke of York, aka Prince Andrew.From the world of the arts, we have Emma Thompson, maybe my favorite actress (or is that too clichéd a choice?). (I don’t care, on the grounds that chocolate ice cream — universally adored — is first-rate, too.) Also Yo-Yo Ma, the cellist, and Peter Gabriel, the rocker (or whatever kind of music he performs), and Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. Who’s that last? One of the most impressive people on the planet. It was he who wrote and directed The Lives of Others, the movie about East Germany and the Stasi. Bill Buckley declared it the best movie he had ever seen in his life. A lot of us pretty much agreed.
There is a strong American contingent here in Davos, and I’ll throw out just a few names: Jon Corzine, Larry Summers, Orrin Hatch, Christopher Cox, Phil Gramm, Bob Zoellick, and Rupert Murdoch. (Interesting to see El Rupert here.) (Why I went Spanish on him, I don’t know.) And take two more: Rick Warren, the pastor from California; and Alice Waters, the chef, also from California.
Bono and Gore — or should that be Gore and Bono? — are putting on a show: “A Unified Earth Theory: Combining Solutions to Extreme Poverty and the Climate Crisis.” Well, that would be nifty, to say the least. (And bear in mind that, when I say “Bono,” I ain’t talking Congresswoman Mary.)
And, as always, there is a “Nobel Nightcap,” in other words, after-hours drinks, featuring a slew of Nobelists. I always figured Davos simply liked the alliteration of “Nobel Nightcap.”
I will give you some offbeat events: There is “The Science of Love.” And here I quote from the catalogue: “Attachment, romantic love, and sexual attraction influence much of our behaviour and choices throughout our lives.” Well, that’s the understatement of the year. And there is “Reveal Your True Colours.” (Yes, the English here is British.) “An introduction to the world of colour physiology, this session will detail how colour defines our surroundings and influences our perception.” And there is a “Dialogue in Silence”: “This workshop will be held in complete silence and your communication skills will be improved by deaf trainers.” . . . (more)