Old habits die hard for George Osborne, Davos Man

George Osborne has returned to his old ways this week – flying to Davos as part of a contingent of Citizens of Nowhere who have made the luxury Swiss resort their home for the week. Only this year the global elite have been joined by some guests who could not be described as your typical attendee.

Happily, Osborne welcomes the newfound interest in the event. the former Writing the diary in the new issue of The Spectator, the Evening Standard editor says ‘Davos Man understands that the struggle takes many forms’. ‘Shadow chancellor John McDonnell is braving the Glühwein to lecture us on Marxism,’ he writes. ‘Donald Trump is swapping cheeseburgers for Swiss fondue on his mission to put America first.’

Osborne also finds time to take a swipe at the beleaguered Prime Minister over her decision to attend – a year after she warned the global elite at the event that they would lose elections unless they ‘understood how out of touch they’d become’:

‘Theresa May is back, flush from her successful outing last year when she warned the audience here that they’d lose elections unless they understood how out of touch they’d become.