Vladimir Putin mentioned excessive economic expectations in his speech, but then similar expectations were associated with the Prime Minister's speech itself.
"You waited for Munich? You shouldn't have," Deputy Economic Development Minister Stanislav Voskresensky told the media, apparently referring to Mr Putin's speech at the previous Munich security conference, which created a scandal.
Mr Putin's speech at Davos was no less important. It did not include harsh rhetoric, which was a new and surprising element. Everyone expected the Prime Minister to provoke confrontation, but instead he called for pulling efforts to address common problems. They thought he would again attack the United States, which has collapsed the global financial system, but Mr Putin mentioned the US only a few times in his half-hour speech.
Surprisingly, the phrase "our American friends" in the paragraph about ruined investment banks did not sound as mockery.
And lastly, nobody expected Mr Putin to say that excessive state interference in the economy was one of the main "no-nos".
The audience was shocked. Did Putin really say that? He, the Prime Minister of Russia, a country that threatened the world with the Iskander missiles and turned off the gas tap to Europe over a conflict with Ukraine? Did he really say that economic isolationism is bad?
Putin has again surprised everyone. He spoke as a liberal and as a result looked very good against the backdrop of his Western colleagues, who have lost all of their liberal fervour. In fact, it was an anti-Munich speech in terms of expectations and what came to pass.
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Recipes for the global economic recovery
Don't:
- Slide towards isolationism and unrestrained national egotism
- Increase unlimited state interference in the economy
Do:
- Write off bad debts and divest hopeless assets
- Get rid of virtual money, inflated reports and questionable ratings
- Create a system of several reserve currencies
- Form a new system of global regulators