It’s no great secret that Davos isn’t Theresa May’s natural habitat. Whether it’s eschewing meetings with businessmen to have a private fondue or giving speeches warning the guests at the event, the Prime Minister isn’t a natural at the flashy meeting of the global elite.
So, reports that May spoke to a half-empty crowd yesterday have been quick to do the rounds on social media, with users joking that the one thing May and Trump have in common is an inability to pull in a crowd (as with his inauguration). Politico report that the crowd’s reaction ‘was extremely muted’ – and that Michel Barnier, the EU’s Brexit negotiator, ‘chose to join another WEF session rather than listen to May’.
However, Mr S wonders if it’s a case of wishful thinking on the part of May’s critics. This is a picture of the so-called half empty seating ‘as Theresa May takes the stage’. As readers point out, it’s not clear May is even on the stage – the person at the stand is not the Prime Minister.
https://twitter.com/PoliticoRyan/status/956513426620198912
What’s more, those in the room say it was ‘pretty full’ when she actually spoke – as these pictures appear to demonstrate:
Now it’s pretty full! pic.twitter.com/jB6HUpXQBw
— Daniela Vincenti (@VincentiDaniela) January 25, 2018
Mr S will leave it to readers to decide for themselves…
Update: Now Dan Snow has got in on the act. The Remain-backing historian has tweeted that it is ‘heartbreaking’ as someone who loved the UK to read a New York Times report on May’s ‘sparsely attended’ Davos speech.
For Mr S, it’s heartbreaking that Snow sent such a sparsely researched tweet.
I love the UK and this is heartbreaking.
A brutal summary from the @nytimes: pic.twitter.com/7U5rAmKxhC
— Dan Snow (@thehistoryguy) January 26, 2018
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