Davos Watch: An inside look at the 50th conference II

On Jan. 21, after U.S. President Donald Trump ended his speech at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, one of the reporters surrounding him asked if he still does not believe in climate change. Trump left without answering the question.

I wondered whether he was not as powerful as he usually is.

Long line of people

Trump’s speech was the highlight of the day. The speech was supposed to begin at 11:30 a.m., and attendees hoping to watch him live, rather than via a live broadcast, began gathering in front of the venue at around 9 a.m. Since I also did not want to miss the opportunity to watch him live, I joined the line at a little past 9 a.m.

By around 10 a.m. when the venue opened, the space in front of it was filled with people. After undergoing bag checks, attendees hastily entered the venue to secure good seats, and almost all seats had been occupied by around 10:30 a.m. Since I could not move much, I could not take photos. Among the audience members were former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, who is working on the issue of climate change, and Swedish environmentalist Greta Thunberg, who was made fun of by Trump.

15 minutes late; restrained tone

Trump was scheduled to deliver a speech after WEF founder Klaus Schwab and others. However, he had not shown up by 11:30 a.m., finally appearing about 15 minutes late. While some people around me said it was just like him, his speech did not sound very enthusiastic. He delivered it as though carefully reading the script from a teleprompter while emphasizing his economic and other achievements.

Presidential election in mind?

The Davos conference, attended by top world leaders, attracts a lot of attention. Many sessions are broadcast live online, and media companies around the world report on it every day, such as in special programs broadcast by TV stations in Europe, the United States and other countries.

Speakers and session participants are aware of that, and the conference offers an opportunity for business leaders to promote their companies, with one declaring a commitment to 100 percent recycling of their packaging, for example.

While Trump stated his skepticism of environmental issues, the tone of his speech as a whole was restrained, and the audience’s response was detached. The only part that brought excitement was when he announced a plan to participate in a tree-planting initiative. A U.S. woman with whom I got acquainted when waiting for the venue to open expressed mixed feelings, saying that Trump might have been conscious of the presidential election and that she was a little surprised as she was worried he would make controversial remarks. I heard similar conversations happening around me.

— Hasegawa is a deputy managing editor of The Yomiuri Shimbun, and the editor of the Yomiuri Shimbun Online website. Joining The Yomiuri Shimbun in 1989, she has worked as a correspondent based in Manila, Geneva, Cairo and elsewhere. She assumed her current positions in 2019 after working as editor and then managing editor of The Japan News. Her interests include diving and cooking. This is the second time she has attended the Davos conference; she also participated in 2019.