More Davos hilarity

I blogged briefly yesterday on Davos, and couldn't get a comedy meta-tag to work. Never mind. Here's some more Davos hilarity from the FT and Indie (which had the front page headline "It just gets worse and worse". On first glance, I thought they were being honest about their own paper. I thought 'hmm, bold, but a little self-indulgent' before realising they were talking about the global economy...

[I suppose a responsible blogger would share his Profound Thoughts about Erdogan v. Peres, but I'm not, I've not got, and I can't be arsed...]

Davos gadgets

This year's Davos gadget was a little blue pedometer. Each delegate was issued with one and invited to “walk the global village”.

“Be fit, get there quicker and count your steps on the way. Enjoy breathing healthy mountain air. Reduce traffic congestion and contribute to a 'Green Davos'. Be recognised as Walker of the Year 2009”

Anyone who walks more than 20,000 steps is entered in a prize draw. With packed snow on the pavements and waist height drifts on the roadside, there will be more broken bones than on the slopes.

FT 28 Jan 2009 page 18

In downbeat Davos, the happy capitalist is hard to find.

Jeremy Warner

Independent 29 Jan 2009 page 43

“In all the years I've been coming to these annual gatherings of the global business elite, I've never known the mood to be more downbeat, or confidence so deflated. Global capitalism was meant to have all the solutions.

This year, business leaders and bankers are left forlornly wondering what more governments can do to bail them out.”

Problems shaping post-crisis party's guest list

I am now in Davos and preparing to play my part in “shaping the post-crisis world”, which is the official title of this year's forum. I must say this strikes me as over-optimistic. The words “shaping” and “post-crisis” seem misplaced. (I will grudgingly accept “world”.)

But what would be a better title for this year's Davos? “Sinking in quicksand” is closer to the spirit of the times; “Buried under an avalanche of debt” acknowledges our Alpine surroundings; “Up shit creek without a paddle” has an appealing directness and shares more or less the same length and meter as “Shaping the post-crisis”- so that is my favourite for the moment. But I am open to suggestions.

Gideon Rachman

FT 29 Jan 2009

Nobody has a fucking clue, as per William Goldman.