Swiss president calls for less elitist thinking at WEF

Swiss Defence Minister Viola Amherd is also in the role of rotating president for 2024. © Keystone / Gian Ehrenzeller

In her opening speech at the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Tuesday, Viola Amherd appealed to global leaders to restore lost trust.

Amherd thus drew on the motto of this year’s WEF – “rebuilding trust” – which she said was not just a nice phrase but a blunt sign that mutual trust in the global community is in a bad way. “Parts of the population distrust all of us who are gathered here,” Amherd said in Davos.

She appealed to the responsibility of attendees to restore trust by ensuring rules to guarantee open and transparent exchange, the reaching of compromises and reliability.

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Amherd addressed not only states, but also organisations in the multilateral system. Everyone must prevent power politics from destroying the foundations of life, she said. Real progress in ecological transformation is thus urgently needed. Ultimately, however, agreements must also be implemented, as this is the only way to create trust.

“Many of you in this room have the opportunity to strengthen cohesion and social balance in your companies,” said Amherd. When the supposed elite celebrate themselves as a “detached caste” while many families can barely make ends meet, mistrust grows. Governments can then put forward proposals, but they are not listened to.

“Those who command should deliver,” Amherd continued. Switzerland is doing this by working to build new trust, for example through its traditional diplomatic “good offices” or as a member of the UN Security Council.

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Switzerland wants to contribute to finding solutions – despite the increasing tendency towards block thinking. We are not at the mercy of negative trends, said Amherd, adding: “we can break them – let’s get to work”.

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