Restoring trust will be key at Davos

Italian premier Mario Monti will set the tone for beleaguered business and political leaders gathering in Davos this week for the annual World Economic Forum (WEF), with a speech entitled ‘Leading against the odds’.

The pow-wow will bring together more than 1,500 business leaders and up to 50 heads of state or government, many of them, like Mr Monti, weathered by almost perpetual crisis as they fight to bring their economies and companies through global financial turmoil and a few homegrown scandals of their own.

“It’s very clear that the future of the world economy is based on restoring trust. Restoring trust in leaders, restoring trust in our future. And this means we have to move out of this crisis mode,” WEF founder Klaus Schwab told a news conference.