RARELY seen at the annual elitist schmoozefest known as the World Economic Forum, it was the Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao, and the Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, who flexed the biggest box-office muscle on the opening day.
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The prime ministers of two of the world's biggest developing economies wore matching black suits and politically appropriate blood-red ties, creating queues and leaving standing room only in the huge concrete conference hall of the Swiss ski resort.
Mr Wen and Mr Putin were frank in their assessments of the dramatic effect on their country's economies of the global financial meltdown. And neither man was able to resist thinly veiled criticisms of both the United States and other major Western industrialised nations' failures to recognise the pending disaster.
Mr Putin said he would not criticise the United States, but then promptly reminded the audience of the many American officials who spoke glowingly of the state of the economy at Davos last year.
"From this rostrum, we heard the words of American representatives about the fundamental stability and cloudless prospects of the US economy. But today, the pride of Wall Street - the investment banks - have virtually ceased to exist."
More than 2500 of the world's richest, most powerful and now rather chastened bankers, economists, business leaders and politicians converged on Davos for a conference aptly titled "Shaping a post-crisis world".
While attendances have hit record numbers, the biggest talk of the conference has been the no-shows - from the US President, Barack Obama, leaders from Wall Street, and a clutch of politicians. The Deputy Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, and Trade Minister, Simon Crean, will represent Australia, in place of the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd.
Blue skies, sunshine and freezing temperatures are an ironic backdrop for a conference called to find a path out of a crisis that Mr Putin likened during his opening address to a "perfect storm".
It "denotes a situation when nature's forces converge in one point of the ocean and increase their destructive potential many times over. It appears that the present-day crisis resembles such a perfect storm," he said.
Mr Putin pledged Russia would work with Europe and the rest of the world to forge a new economic order: "We cannot afford to be isolationist and egotistic."
He warned that while national governments had injected billions to bail out their banks and financial institutions, Russia does not believe in such wide-ranging state interference in the private sector.
Mr Wen insisted that with hard work China could meet its target of 8 per cent economic growth for 2009, but acknowledged analysts' doubts. The International Monetary Fund has predicted 6.7 per cent growth.
"To be honest, it will be a tall order to achieve a growth rate of 8 per cent in 2009, but I still retain the conviction that we will achieve this. The harsh winter will be gone and spring is around the corner," Mr Wen said, prompting a gale of nervous applause.
Mr Crean and media magnate Rupert Murdoch echoed warnings at the forum about the threat new trade barriers could pose amid the crisis. "Reverting to protectionism will not save jobs," Mr Crean said through a spokesman.
Mr Putin shocked the hall as he took questions and was asked by Michael Dell, the computer tycoon, how the IT industry could help Russia. Mr Putin's reply was swift and acid: "We don't need help. We are not invalids. We don't have limited mental capacity."
did not stop there: he said even villages in Siberia were linked to the internet and every Russian school had a computer.
