There was a time when all you had to do in Davos was follow the smell of power to find the German economy. It was the era before and after the financial crisis, but before the major disruptions of digitalization. If you trudged through the cold to the Hotel Belvedere back then, it was clear: not only the forum founder Klaus Schwab, who had to ingloriously resign last year, was in power here, but “Deutschland AG” was in power there. Anyone who compares today’s promenade with the one back then is looking at two different worlds. Back then, Davos was more physical, more industrial, more bank-centric. And right in the middle, as a spider in the web, sat Josef Ackermann. It was “Joe” Ackermann, the then head of Deutsche Bank, who shaped the forum like no other. Ackermann was more than a participant; he was on the board of trustees of the WEF, he was the co-chairman. The Deutsche Bank receptions were legendary. Ackermann embodied the German economy’s claim to play globally on an equal footing with Wall Street. He moderated panels with a naturalness, as if he owned the room. When Ackermann spoke, Davos listened. Deutsche Bank was not just a sponsor, it was a geopolitical actor. Deutsche Bank boss Ackermann and the car manufacturers. At the same time, the German automotive industry, especially Audi and the Volkswagen Group, portrayed itself as the ruler of mobility. It was the time when “advancement through technology” seemed inviolable, even in the Swiss Alps. The black limousines with the four rings or the VW logo were omnipresent. They were the physical link between the hotels and the convention center. In the background of this demonstration of power was the aura of Ferdinand Piëch. Piëch himself was not a “Davos goer” in the sense of a networker like Ackermann. He avoided the smooth parquet of vanities on which Ackermann moved so elegantly. But Piëch was present as an invisible patriarch. The dominance of the VW Group was so oppressive that Piëch’s spirit hovered over the discussions without him even having to pick up a microphone. It was a demonstration of engineering-driven power: We build the cars you drive. You talk, we produce. If you fast forward to the present, this look back seems almost melancholic. The descent began slowly. With the years of crisis at Deutsche Bank, its claim to global leadership in the financial sector disappeared. Today, the bank is a normal participant among many in Davos, no longer a “host”. Then came Dieselgate. The German auto industry ducked its head – and to this day suffers from the fact that Germans are even slower in their minds to make the switch to electromobility than industry. Today Tesla and Uber dominate here, even if the Germans still provide a few shuttles. It has become a service provider sponsorship. The authority to interpret the future of mobility, which was once claimed in Ingolstadt or Wolfsburg, has shifted – towards Tesla, towards Waymo, towards Chinese players, even if they often still operate in the background in Davos. It is the Uber boss who explains to the forum participants in a panel what the future of mobility will look like. And the boss of Bosch listens attentively. At least in the Belvedere you meet an Italian who calms you down and who knows a lot about the German car industry. Stefano Aversa, European head of the consulting firm Alix Partners, still thinks highly of the German premium brands. And a country like the United States must ultimately ask itself whether there is value in itself in being even larger, but alone. There is a lot at stake, certainly for Europe, but also for America. “There will be a number of losers in the technology industry in the United States if the decoupling between Europe and America accelerates.” There are now promising approaches in numerous areas to use European technology to become more independent of American technology. Americans are coming – Germany’s exception is SAP. In Davos, as in the world, the following applies: the cards can always be reshuffled. Does America have enough skilled workers for future growth in industrial production? Does inflation rise when inventories are depleted? What will happen next with the budget deficit? But these are questions for the future. Today the American tech giants have pitched their tents here. Salesforce, Meta, Palantir, the list gets long. They pay rents that are hardly justifiable for German board members – or are simply not wanted. The exception remains SAP. The Walldorf-based software group is the only DAX company to hold the flag high in the center, often with a prominent presence. SAP boss Christian Klein is one of the few Europeans who is taken seriously when it comes to AI and the cloud. But he is a soloist. That leads to a discussion that has become present this year, including through a comment from Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel at the “Frankfurt Meets Davos” reception, which still exists: Why doesn’t Europe’s largest economy have a “German House”? Other nations have perfected the game of “soft power.” There is an “India House” that brims with self-confidence. There is the “Nigeria House” that attracts investors. Even smaller economies join forces to appear as a unit on the promenade.More on the topicGermany, on the other hand, is fragmented. The DAX companies, if they still have a large presence at all, cook their own soup in hotel suites or side events. A “German House” on the promenade would be more than just a property. It would be a physical anchor point for medium-sized businesses, start-ups and politics. The Chancellor does arrive, the ministers meet in the background, they give their speeches, but the place of permanent dialogue that Ackermann’s receptions once offered is missing. A place where “Made in Germany” is not presented as a relic of the old industry, but as a promise for the future. The absence on the promenade is just a symptom. It reflects the German economy’s fear of being crushed by the superpowers USA and China. Instead of resisting with a broad chest and a “German House”, they practice Swabian restraint. Maybe it’s time for someone to combine the spirit of Josef Ackermann – the aspiration to lead globally – with the engineering skills of Piëch and bring them back to Davos. Because if you’re not visible on the promenade, you might not even be there in the future.
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