ANALYSIS:FOR FORUM veterans, Davos is the snowy Magic Mountain where invitees are expected to abide by the Swiss rules of collective participation and collective responsibility.
But on day two of the World Economic Forum, the hills were alive with the sound of squabbling.
Proceedings in the snowy resort have been hijacked by the bickering over the euro zone rescue efforts. That has left the bewildered banking and business elite from New York to Beijing wondering when – if – Europeans will ever kiss and make up for everyone’s sake.
Rather than even a pretend show of unity for the foreign visitors, EU heavyweights were busy throwing shapes about what kind of solidarity the EU needs.
With an eye on next week’s fiscal compact summit in Brussels, Chancellor Angela Merkel insisted that it would be negligent to agree further rescue efforts – such as doubling the bailout fund – without first agreeing fiscal reforms to win back market trust.
David Cameron, meanwhile, championed the IMF-World Bank line that greater German leadership – read bailout cash – is essential to make sure there will be a euro zone to reform later.
In this stand-off over the solidarity principle the EU heavyweights appear unable to agree even on whether this is a chicken and egg dilemma or a cart and horse issue.
“That’s what I love about Davos,” snorted one US bank executive. “It’s the one time of the year when these people are really honest with each other.”
For the non-Europeans, struggling to understand the cultural nuances behind the row, the arrival of reform poster boy Enda Kenny was greeted with a sigh of relief. Amid the feuding, here was a feel-good story.
Proving the old adage that nothing succeeds like success, the Davos debutante had the forum elite flocking to shake his hand.
Even Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, a Davos veteran, appeared to bestow greetings and blessings on the terrace as the sun winked off the mountain snow.
Appearing in the main afternoon panel alongside his Danish and Finnish counterparts, Kenny proved that the smaller EU countries are ready and willing to agree reform.
First, though, Kenny gave his high-powered audience the condensed Irish fail-and-rise story. “Irish people simply went mad to borrow . . . which spawned greed to a point where this went out of control and lead to the spectacular crash.”
And now: “People are very pragmatic towards the political process, and politicians should never underestimate their willingness to assist and help with problems.”
The crisis had, he said, reminded the Irish not to take the EU for granted. “If you sign on there are conditions, rules and regulations, and we cannot throw these out the window and just avail of the benefits.”
While agreeing with the suggestion that Ireland had taken its reform “cod liver oil”, Kenny was cautious about exporting the Irish medicine to southern Europe.
His Danish and Finnish panel colleagues insisted the Irish need not be so modest.
“Ireland is a good example of how a country can win confidence back with good policies; it’s a model we need all over Europe,” said Finland’s conservative leader Jyrki Tapani Katainen.
Then, in a line straight from the Dublin playbook, he added: “But you can’t expect growth if there’s no confidence. If you’re cutting budget and raising taxes, there’s no growth. We are talking about a confidence, not cyclical problem. We have to strengthen confidence.”
Denmark’s Social Democrat prime minister Hella Thorning-Schmidt agreed, saying that people were always prepared to accept austerity once it was distributed evenly and coupled with measures for growth.
“People are prepared to take hard decisions but it’s important that we remember: they are prepared to make sacrifices, not be sacrificed,” she said.
“We had banks that were supposedly too big to fail but now a lot of people are feeling too small to matter.”
The three leaders’ message was clear: while the larger EU members posture, their smaller neighbours see that with the expectation of solidarity comes the obligation of responsibility.
Perhaps the spirit of Davos is alive after all.
