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By SUZANNE LYNCH
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WELCOME to Global Playbook, coming to you today from Brussels. Europe is still reeling from the attempted assassination of a sitting prime minister less than three weeks before the EU election, and the world is waiting for the fallout from the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, after Tehran declared five days of mourning.
Also in this edition, we’ll take stock of last week’s Global Democracy Summit in Copenhagen. But first, a Global Playbook scoop …
IT’S DAVOS VS. DAVOS
SWISS TAKE BACK CONTROL: Switzerland is a country known for its fierce tradition of representative democracy and decentralized government. Now, the future of one of the most hallowed institutions of the global elite — the World Economic Forum — lies in Swiss voters’ hands.
Promenade crackdown: Residents of the Swiss town of Davos (population c.11,000) will vote June 9 on new rules proposed by the council to curtail who can rent buildings along its promenade or construct the temporary structures that are a feature of its streetscape during the annual January gathering.
Why it matters: The new rules are an attempt to ensure that only those who pay to attend the World Economic Forum — with the exception of delegates entitled to free passes like governments, media and NGOs — will be permitted to take up residence along Davos’ central promenade, a prime piece of advertising real estate during WEF.
The numbers: The annual gathering of business and political elite attracts up to 3,000 official delegates each year, though the official number of accredited attendees, including contractors and staff, is closer to 10,000. But estimates put the true number of people who actually pitch up at Davos each year at 30,000 as people flock to the town to do business, hold events and meet informally.
Free country vs. freeloaders: The council plan is the latest stage in a long-running debate over who has the right to attend the World Economic Forum, the gathering founded by Klaus Schwab in 1971 that has spawned a parallel universe of (often more interesting) tête-à-têtes and off-piste events at the Swiss town each year.
The costs: Deep-pocketed corporations pay up to 600,000 Swiss francs (around €606,000) for the privilege of an annual WEF membership, which buys a certain number of badges that grant access to the hallowed conference center halls. (Paid-up corporations also send extra staffers to Davos each year to meet clients and host lavish lunches, without ever setting foot in the main venue. )
But the colorful cast of Davos hangers-on — everyone from climate protesters and celebs to investors and crypto bros — have arguably imbued the forum with the relevance it badly needs in recent years, even as they’ve clogged up the streets and put a strain on the town’s infrastructure.
Quelle surprise: The World Economic Forum welcomed the council’s proposal to tighten up the rules. “The Forum collaborates with Davos since its beginnings, values this long-standing partnership,” Managing Director Alois Zwinggi said in a statement. “We support the host city’s efforts to ensure that the infrastructure allows citizens and visitors alike to experience the annual meeting in the best possible way.”
Homeowners’ revolt: But many Davos residents aren’t happy — particularly those who make a fortune renting their homes out during WEF week. (The going rate for a two-bed apartment can be as high as €30,000 for the duration of the forum.) The Davos Homeowners’ Association is campaigning for a Nein vote, telling POLITICO the proposed changes are overreach, depriving landlords of the right “to decide for themselves who they want to rent their space to.”
Let the people have their say! The city council, comprised of five elected ministers, made its views clear, arguing the plan will “reduce the negative side effects of the WEF annual meetings.” On June 9, the people of Davos will deliver their verdict. Full details here.
ELECTION UNEASE
SHOTS RING OUT ACROSS EUROPE: The curtains had barely come down on the Copenhagen Democracy Summit last Wednesday when news broke that Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico had been shot. While Fico’s condition is now improving, an assassination attempt on a sitting European PM just weeks before millions of citizens go to the polls has unsettled political leaders.
Real-world politics: The news was a timely if unsettling intrusion of real-world politics on the conversations that had already been happening at the Copenhagen summit. One of the key themes of the gathering was how technology impacts democracy during this mega election year, in a world where disinformation, deep fakes and generative AI roam freely.
MARIN’S WARNING: Former Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin told my colleague Anne McElvoy in Copenhagen that Europe must get its act together when it comes to technological nous — be it in the field of innovation or producing semiconductors. “We cannot be reliant on authoritarian countries like we were on energy with Russia.” (Look out for the full interview, which will drop in the coming weeks in the Power Play podcast feed.)
Polarized world: “There’s so much material out there that’s not real,” Marin said, pointing to the prevalence of deep fakes. “But when we look at the state of democracy and the elections, the problem isn’t only that, that there’s false news … the problem is also that people know it’s fake, but they will still share because it supports their ideology, it supports their way of thinking.”
WISE UP: European Commission Vice President Věra Jourová told Global Playbook that all politicians need to take responsibility for the temperature of public debate in the wake of the Fico shooting. “While we need to wait for the investigation to understand better the motives of the shooter, this tragic event should be a lesson to all of us,” she said. “All over Europe, we can see increased polarization and hate. On social media we can see the river of hate everywhere.”
Grim reality: “We have to understand that verbal violence can lead to physical violence,” Jourová cautioned.
Putin’s fingerprints: With 450 million voters entitled to cast a ballot in the European Parliament election taking place June 6-9, Jourová said Russia was using “every trick in the book, especially on social media and in the online sphere more broadly” to influence the outcome.
The threat is real: In case there’s any doubt about the unprecedented role social media now plays in election campaigns, read this piece by my colleague Mark Scott on how easy access to AI tools risks triggering a tidal wave of politically motivated falsehoods. Meanwhile, this must-read by Clothilde Goujard, Elisa Braun and Mark investigates how Europe’s far right is using TikTok to win the youth vote.
Here’s looking at you, Washington: U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines sounded the alarm at a Senate hearing last week, warning that an increasing number of foreign actors, including non-state ones, are seeking to influence American elections — with Russia “the most active foreign threat.”
POLITICAL PEOPLE
DUST OFF YOUR TUXES: Secretary of State Antony Blinken will be the headline speaker at a gala dinner at the State Department tonight marking 100 years of modern U.S. diplomacy, held in collaboration with the American Foreign Service Association.
Only 100 years, I hear you say? While Benjamin Franklin is famously known as America’s first diplomat, serving as ambassador to France in the early days of U.S. independence, the Rogers Act of 1924 actually established the first professional foreign service.
Let’s hope Debora Cahn and the writers of hit series “The Diplomat” are in the audience tonight for what promises to be an epic opportunity for episode ideas.
KENYA VISIT GETS POLITICAL: The White House will roll out the red carpet this week when President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden host Kenya’s President William Ruto and first lady Rachel Ruto for a state visit. The trip, complete with a full state dinner on the South Lawn of the White House, marks 60 years of U.S.-Kenya relations.
Not off to a good start: But House Speaker Mike Johnson appeared to snub Ruto’s request to address a session of the joint houses of Congress, citing a “scheduling” issue. Democrats are furious, with a group of foreign policy committee members, led by ranking members Representatives Gregory Meeks and Barbara Lee, writing to Johnson in protest.
‘The people of Kenya deserve more respect,’ they said, adding that the snub “helps create an opening for autocratic adversaries to make inroads in African public opinion.”
Now read this: POLITICO’s Nahal Toosi has this top story on how African countries are failing to make a dent on Washington’s diplomatic scene.
STEADY AS SHE GOES: Luis Abinader, president of the Dominican Republic, was reelected for a second term Sunday, pledging stability for the Caribbean country of 11 million. The U.S.-trained economist has taken a tough stance toward neighboring Haiti, which has descended into political and economic chaos, constructing a concrete wall at the border to clamp down on migration.
CHANGING OF THE GUARD IN TAIPEI: Taiwan’s new President Lai Ching-te (who spoke at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit last week) was sworn into office Monday, and urged China to “stop threatening” his country. He also offered an olive branch of sorts, suggesting tourist visits from China to Taiwan should resume.
But don’t expect holiday groups any time soon. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office accused Lai of “flagrantly promoting separatist fallacies.”
ICC UPROAR: The International Criminal Court’s announcement that it’s seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, along with three Hamas leaders including Yahya Sinwar, the Islamist group’s head in Gaza, has caused shockwaves. But POLITICO’s Jamie Dettmer argues it may yet save Netanyahu politically.
DIMON’S SUCCESSION DANCE: JPMorgan Chase chief Jamie Dimon told investors on Monday the search for a successor was “on the way,” and said he planned to step down from the job within five years. Bloomberg has a write-up.
NEW JOB: Carlos Ruiz-Hernández, Panama’s former ambassador to the United Nations, has been named the country’s new deputy foreign minister. Well known on the Washington political scene, most recently he’s been advising on foreign policy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Inter-American Dialogue and the Wilson Center.
DIARY NOTES
HAPPENING TODAY: The Indo-Pacific Business Forum is underway in Manila, with a heavy U.S. presence. The United States Trade Representatives and Trade and Development Agency are co-hosting the event, with Philippines President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos delivering an address.
EU ELECTION DEBATE: Following the EU election debate co-hosted by POLITICO and Studio Europa in Maastricht in April, the lead candidates seeking to become the next European Commission president will face off again this Thursday. But the far-right candidates are crying foul, accusing the debate organizers of excluding them.
PROGRAMMING NOTE: Global Playbook is heading to Singapore next week, where the POLITICO team will be covering the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue. Look out for the first edition, in your inbox on May 31 — and if you’re in town too, get in touch with Suzanne, Global Playbook Editor Zoya Sheftalovich and EU-China Correspondent Stuart Lau.
THANKS TO: Editor Zoya Sheftalovich.
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