US Commerce Secretary booed at dinner in Davos

BarcelonaUS Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was booed Tuesday at a dinner at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, the British newspaper reported Wednesday. Financial TimesDuring the event, Lutnick reportedly gave a speech in which he attacked Europe and defended the use of coal and other hydrocarbons as the main sources of energy over renewables, which provoked outrage among some of the attendees, and some, such as the president of the European Central Bank (ECB), Christine Lagarde, left the event.

According to the Financial TimesLutnick reportedly made several "combative remarks" during his speech at the luncheon, which was moderated by Larry Fink, CEO of the US investment fund BlackRock and interim co-chair of the WEF. Among the US Secretary of Commerce's remarks were allegedly "derogatory comments" about Europe that provoked hisses and boos from some of the luncheon attendees, with some leaving in protest. Among those who reportedly left in protest of Lutnick's speech was former US Vice President Al Gore—who lost the 2000 election to George W. Bush—known for his activism against climate change and fossil fuels. Fink reportedly made an appeal for calm, to no avail. Neither Gore, nor the ECB, nor the event organizers have commented on the incident. However, the US Department of Commerce has issued a statement assuring the Financial Times that "only one person booed, and that was Al Gore." Aside from the dinner where he was reportedly booed, Lutnick participated in a public debate at the WEF on Tuesday. This Wednesday afternoon Trump is scheduled to give a speech

The booing comes amid escalating tensions between US President Donald Trump and the leaders of most European and NATO countries over the White House's insistence that the US annex the Danish territory of Greenland. This insistence, along with threats of further tariffs on European exports to the US and continued threats of annexation of Canada, has strained relations between the US and the member states of the European Union and NATO—until now Washington's closest allies in the world—who perceive it as a most sober attack. In fact, Lutnick's department is responsible for drafting US tariff policy.

The reaction of European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, in recent days has been to escalate their rhetoric against Trump and threaten trade countermeasures if he ultimately implements the tariffs he announced against eight European states that sent troops to Greenland in response to the threats. Similarly, on Tuesday, the Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney declared "the old world order" dead. in his speech at the WEF.

Trump, the "new sheriff" of capitalism

A few days before attending the Davos meeting, Lutnick wrote an article in the same Financial Times in which he asserted that the US government would not attend the event "to maintain thestatus quo", but to "confront him head-on." "We are going to Davos to make one thing crystal clear: with President Trump, capitalism has a new sheriff in town," the US Secretary of Commerce wrote in the pages of the renowned newspaper.

This year's WEF is titled A spirit of dialogueFink has provisionally assumed the presidency of the event alongside André Hoffmann, vice president of the Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche, after Klaus Schwab, who led the meeting for years, resigned amid several accusations of financial irregularities and creating a toxic work environment at the institution. However, an internal investigation concluded that Schwab's conduct and work had been appropriate.