The World Economic Forum in Davos, renowned for its diplomatic and measured atmosphere, was the scene of an exceptional moment on Tuesday, January 20th. Mark Carney, Canada’s Prime Minister, delivered a fifteen-minute address that elicited an unusual reaction in this setting: the audience rose to give him a warm standing ovation.
An Unflinching Analysis of the Current World Order
The Canadian leader delivered a stark diagnosis of the contemporary world’s state. According to him, the international architecture that prevailed for decades is experiencing a profound rupture. Without ever explicitly mentioning the United States or its president, Carney wove his entire argument around the major transformations observed since Donald Trump’s return to the American presidency one year ago.
His formula struck a chord: the world is not experiencing a simple transition, but rather a fracture. This break means, in his words, the collapse of a reassuring illusion and the emergence of an implacable reality, characterized by a geopolitics of great powers freed from all constraints.
The Imperative of Alliance for Intermediate Nations
The heart of Carney’s message lay in his urgent appeal to middle powers. These countries, he affirmed, must imperatively unite and coordinate their actions. The alternative is clear and brutal: either participate actively in international negotiations, or become their victims. This vivid formula – being at the table or being on the menu – summarized the urgency he perceives.
The Prime Minister emphasized that each day brings new reminders of this era dominated by rivalries among powers. In this context, he urged threatened nations to resist firmly rather than yield in hopes of buying their security through submission. This strategy of appeasement, he warned, is doomed to failure.
An Implicit Critique of International Complacency
Carney did not spare certain states – which he nonetheless did not name – that he judges guilty of passivity in the face of current challenges. He denounced a widespread tendency: that of seeking conciliation at all costs, of docilely accepting newly imposed rules, of avoiding difficult confrontations. Many governments, according to him, nurture the illusion that conformity will protect them. This belief is dangerous and deceptive, he hammered home.
The Canadian leader also developed a strategic vision to justify his call for cooperation. Middle powers constitute, according to his analysis, the nations most exposed in a world fragmented into fortified blocs, but also those that would benefit most substantially from authentic and deepened collaboration. Faced with an old order definitively gone, they must invent new forms of partnership.
Greenland and Tensions with Washington
Beyond these general considerations, Carney, a former central bank governor who came to power less than a year ago, took a position on a burning current issue. He expressed unequivocal support for Greenland and Denmark, affirming their sovereign and exclusive right to determine the future of this Arctic territory, which Donald Trump has openly coveted.
The prolonged ovation that concluded his intervention took on particular resonance: it came just hours after the American president had, once again, evoked the idea of annexing Canada. The previous night, Trump had posted on Truth Social several AI-generated images showing him in the Oval Office, surrounded by European leaders, in front of a map showing the American flag covering not only the United States, but also Canada, Greenland, and Venezuela.
The European Echo: Ursula von der Leyen Facing the Same Challenge
Simultaneously, in Strasbourg, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was delivering a speech with similar tones before the European Parliament. She described an increasingly chaotic world, now governed by brute force in all its forms: economic, military, technological, and geopolitical.
Von der Leyen enumerated the multiple points of tension that illustrate this new reality: the growing instability in the Arctic and around Greenland, the persistent bombardments in Ukraine, the crises in the Middle East, and tensions in the Indo-Pacific region. She emphasized that the ongoing upheaval of the international order is not only considerable in scope, but also enduring over time. Europe, she insisted, will have to abandon its traditional caution.
A few hours before Donald Trump’s scheduled speech in Davos, the European official also addressed a direct warning concerning Greenland. She cautioned against a dangerous deterioration of relations among allies, which would only serve to strengthen the common adversaries that both Washington and Europe are seeking to contain. While reaffirming the European preference for dialogue and negotiated solutions, von der Leyen clearly indicated that the Union is fully prepared to act quickly, in a unified and resolute manner, if circumstances require it.
These two speeches, delivered on the same day on either side of Europe, demonstrate a remarkable convergence in the analysis of the global situation and in the determination displayed in the face of the challenges of a new era, marked by the return of an unconstrained logic of power.
Keywords: Mark Carney, Davos 2025, Middle powers, Geopolitical fracture, International cooperation, World Economic Forum
* Share your thoughts, no registration or email required!
* Just one rule: I believe in free expression. This blog is a place for exchange, not a place for insults or aggression. Anyone who behaves badly will be banned from the blog.
Leave your thoughts
Thoughts
There are no reviews yet. Be the first one to write one.
