Who's afraid of Davos?

A newsletter from POLITICO that unpacks essential global news, trends, and decisions.

Jan 11, 2023 View in browser   By Ryan Heath Follow Ryan on Twitter | Send tips and insights to rheath@politico.com Ongoing: All flights in the U.S. have been halted due to a nationwide system outage, which initially affected 1,200 flights just before 7 a.m. The Federal Aviation Administration is working to bring operations back online. GLOBAL RISKS AND TRENDS DAVOS ON A DIET  It's a much reduced list of big leaders this year — a dynamic set to be matched by a toned-down tech presence. Once again German Chancellor Olaf Scholz tops the list of leaders who will speak from the main stage. White House officials aren't participating (recap of U.S. officials attending), and the most senior person coming from China is Liu He, the Chinese Communist Party Politburo member in charge of finance and the economy. He steps down officially in March. WHO'S AFRAID OF DAVOS: We already know Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland 's team is afraid of foreign media (going as far as to ban POLITICO from asking a question to her at the G-20 in 2021, despite us operating in her backyard in Ottawa). But it's odd she has yet to confirm her 2023 Davos plans, given she's on WEF's managing board. Where to find POLITICO: POLITICO will have a team of eight reporters up the mountain from Jan.15-20. We'll bring you a daily podcast and merged editions of Global Insider and Davos Playbook each day next week. OTHER LEADERS ATTENDING G-20 leaders  Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission Roberta Metsola, president of the European Parliament Yoon Suk-yeol, president of the Republic of Korea Cyril M. Ramaphosa, president of South Africa Pedro Sánchez, prime minister of Spain Dictator watch  Ilham Aliyev, president of Azerbaijan Félix Tshisekedi, president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Democratic backslider watch Aziz Akhannouch, Head of Government of Morocco Andrzej Duda, president of Poland Ferdinand Marcos Jr., president of the Philippines Aleksandar Vučić, president of Serbia Najla Bouden, prime minister of Tunisia Samia Suluhu Hassan, president of Tanzania Best of the rest Mark Rutte, prime minister of the Netherlands Alexander De Croo, prime minister of Belgium Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego, president of Colombia Sanna Marin, prime minister of Finland Kyriakos Mitsotakis, prime minister of Greece Leo Varadkar, Taoiseach of Ireland Maia Sandu, president of Moldova ECONOMY — WOULD YOU LIKE A 40 PERCENT PAY RISE? Fast Retailing, the owner of Uniqlo, is making that offer to some staff from the beginning of March. New graduates will get an 18 percent increase and store managers 36 percent, the company said. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida — in Ottawa today and heading to the White House on Friday — last week called for wage increases across the country. While Japan's inflation rate of 3.8 percent is low compared to other advanced economies, the country is more used to battling deflation. FINANCE — CRYPTO WINTER CONTINUES: Coinbase is cutting about a fifth of its workforce as it looks to preserve cash during the crypto market downturn. The cryptocurrency exchange plans to cut 950 jobs, according to a blog post published Tuesday morning. Coinbase, which had roughly 4,700 employees as of the end of September, slashed 18 percent of its workforce in June citing a need to manage costs after growing "too quickly" during the bull market. CLIMATE — OZONE LAYER'S BACK, BABY! For everyone worried about our world on fire — both literally and the international rules-based order — the United Nations offers a brief respite. The hole in the Earth's ozone layer is on track to be fully healed by 2066, and in the Arctic by 2045. Send your thanks to the negotiators of the 1989 Montreal Protocol, whose treaty efforts have caused the elimination of 99 percent of the chlorofluorocarbons that created the hole. GLOBETROTTERS THOSE BORIS JOHNSON COMEBACK RUMORS: The former prime minister's boosters are making no secret hey think the U.K. Conservatives are doomed to lose the next election (due in 2024) if Johnson is not re-installed in Downing Street. Take journalist Tom Newton Dunn and former cabinet minister Nadine Dorries as examples. Johnson's critics see the danger and aren't letting up: The Mirror reports today that the former PM's financial guardian angel, Lord Anthony Bamford, is renting him a posh Knightsbridge home for one-third of the market rate ($11,000 a month versus $33,000). Meanwhile, ITV has a new podcast series about the Partygate scandal that brought down Johnson. Paul Brand reveals Johnson himself called one notorious party "the most unsocially distanced party in the U.K." and that staff destroyed evidence prior to police investigations, including to avoid some of the parties being investigated altogether. "Partygate: The Inside Story" here. KLEPTOWATCH FREE FLIGHTS, A SECRET DEAL — INSIDE THE EU'S 'QATARGATE' COMMITTEE: Blame your secretary! Eddy Wax has a scoop-filled story on the grubby horse trading and forgetful people involved in the EU's Qatar bribery scandal. No wonder the European family of socialist parties at the heart of the Qatargate scandal decided to cancel their new year party scheduled for today in Brussels. PRE-EMPTIVE EXTRADITION SUPPORT FOR BRAZIL: Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) almost sounded like he was willing an extradition order into existence Tuesday, telling my colleague Alex Ward, "I think we need to be responsive if there is a legit criminal proceeding and an extradition request." Some U.S. lawmakers have already called for Bolsonaro's removal from the U.S., where he has been spending his post-presidency days in Florida. While the U.S. can decide at any moment which non-citizens it wants on its territory, typically a Brazilian public figure would not be removed unless Brazil officially asked American authorities to hand him over. NOT MOVING — YELLEN TO STAY ON AS TREASURY CHIEF THROUGH BIDEN'S TERM: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has told Biden she will remain in her post for the next two years. Why it matters: Biden needs Yellen to help deal with a possible recession and the risk of more government debt drama, via Congressional disputes over the U.S. debt ceiling. PASSED King Constantine II , the last king of Greece. He won an Olympic gold medal for sailing before becoming entangled in his country's volatile politics in the 1960s, later spending decades in exile. He was 82. George Pell, the Catholic cardinal and former top Vatican official who was convicted and then acquitted of sexual abuse allegations in 2020. He was 81. Blake Hounshell: The On Politics editor at The New York Times, formerly a top POLITICO editor. Among dozens of other achievements, Blake edited the first incarnation of Global Insider at the U.N. General Assembly in 2019, and worked with an unforgettable intensity and talent. He died yesterday morning, aged 44, after what his family described as a long battle with depression. NYT obituary | POLITICO Playbook | Tributes from those who knew him best, and how we remember him at POLITICO Magazine. POLITICO Editor-in-Chief Matt Kaminski said "there were few people in the history of our publication who have left a more lasting mark. Blake was a mentor to countless great journalists here, many of whom he recruited and edited. He championed unusual talents and quirky ideas. He hated conventionality. In so many ways, Blake personified the essential journalistic values of this publication." Thanks to editor Sue Allan, Emilio Casalicchio and producer Sophie Gardner. SUBSCRIBE to the POLITICO newsletter family: D.C. Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook | Paris Playbook| Ottawa Playbook| EU Confidential | D.C. Influence | EU Influence | London Influence | Digital Bridge | China Direct | Berlin Bulletin | Living Cities   Follow us on Twitter Ryan Heath @PoliticoRyan   Follow us

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