Global elite in Davos consider the Trump presidency - will he act on what he says, or rather Tweets or whether he will prove to be more pragmatic?
ADVERTISEMENTWITH DAVOS REPORTING BY SARAH CHAPPELL
The global elite meeting at Davos in Switzerland have reacted to the prospect of the Trump presidency with a mixture of calm and panic – the difference being whether one believes he will act on what he says, or rather Tweets or whether he will prove to be more pragmatic.
“If you have only the focus on the United States, with no support for the institutions (such as EU, NATO) that are the glue that keeps the world together – then it will be a very difficult time indeed,” Jean Marie Guehenno, CEO of the International Crisis Group told our reporter in Davos.
“If he’s going to run America like a business, then I hope not – because in the real estate business, he was bankrupt, bankrupt, bankrupt,” Cornelis Van Zadelhoff, Founder of DTZ Zadelhoff quipped. “Having said that, perhaps he learnt a lot from that (his business failures) – and it was very clever how he got the presidency, PR-wise he did a fantastic job. So let’s give him the benefit of the doubt,” he said.
From the Pakistan Sustainability Network, Nimra Amjad voiced her fears over Trump’s treatment of women.
“When women see a man like Donald Trump, who’s admitted to sexually harrassing women, I think it triggers all those feelings in you that you may have experienced and he represents every man who has ever treated you that way. So, I think it’s very unsettling that he’s leading one of the world’s most powerful countries.