Democracies under threat, warns Swiss president at WEF

Alain Berset (L) poses at the WEF with (from L to R) Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and WEF founder Klaus Schwab. © Keystone / Laurent Gillieron

Alain Berset has again condemned what he called Russia’s “brutal attack” on Ukraine and warned that democracies are at a “turning point”.

In his opening speech to the annual gathering of the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Tuesday, Interior Minister Berset, who holds the rotating Swiss presidency this year, said democratic institutions were being undermined and “the rule of law is under threat”.

Berset told the audience in the Swiss resort of Davos, which included Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska, that Russia’s attack on Ukraine was also against international law and multilateralism. Switzerland would do “everything possible” to strengthen these two values in the UN Security Council, he told the WEF delegates.

For the first time, Switzerland holds a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council in 2023-24. It will hold the Council presidency for a month in May this year.

Berset also warned of growing social inequalities, saying the rise of populism was a reaction to growing inequality on many issues. “It’s politically toxic,” he insisted, calling for action to promote more “social equity”, including in the discussions at the WEF.

Zelenska hopes for peace

Also addressing the WEF, Olena Zelenska said she hoped 2023 would be “the year of the Ukrainian peace formula”, calling on China to support it. She called for an international effort to match the resistance of her people and denounced those who “use their influence to divide rather than unite”.

While inflation and climate change are challenges, how important will they be if borders are violated and the “fires” caused by Russian forces in Ukraine continue, she asked. “No Ukrainian is safe right now,” she said, referring to at least 44 victims of a Russian missile strike on a residential building in the eastern city of Dnipro on Saturday.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the WEF that there would be “no impunity” for Russia and that the EU would stand firmly behind Ukraine. “We will support you for as long as it takes,” she told Zelenska, mentioning notably EU military aid to Kyiv.

Swiss foreign minister Ignazio Cassis, who met with Zelenska in Davos on Tuesday, told the press she had come with a letter from her husband containing a proposed 10-point peace plan and was seeking support for it, notably from China. He told the press she had announced this, and that the plan was expected to be sent “through diplomatic channels”.