Party Favorites: Zuma (left) and Thompson
Photos: Getty Images
The first Davos cocktail party is always a crush. Hundreds of participants wait on line to go through metal detectors then press shoulder-to-shoulder inside the Belvedere Hotel, necks craning and eyes straining in case they miss out on a Person of Note.
I got lucky tonight, as my big encounter came even before I shoved into the throng. Waiting to hand in my coat and boots, I found myself next to actress Emma Thompson, one of the celebrity invitees who are a regular feature at World Economic Forum events. Before her WEF escort had time to introduce me, she checked my badge, greeted me warmly by name and complimented me on my choice of heavy footwear. (Her own heeled black boots, worn with a black dress and hat, were altogether more elegant, if less practical. But then again, she's unlikely to be left to trudge through the snow like the lesser mortals.) We chatted a little longer as we walked in together--she's hoping to learn as much as she can from Davos, she says--and then she got mobbed. First the TV crews surrounded her. Then, as the crowd thinned, beaming groups of middle-aged men came to stand as close as they could. One, confiding that he'd been in love with her for years, asked if she'd pose for a picture with him. She did.
The other hit of the evening was more of a surprise: Jacob Zuma, elected last month to replace South African president Thabo Mbeki as head of the ruling African National Congress. Zuma, remember, is the man who told a court during his trial for rape that he'd reduced his risk of AIDS by taking a shower after having sex with his HIV-positive accuser. The court upheld his claim that the sex was consensual and acquitted him on the rape charges, but that hasn't stopped Zuma from being the target of women's rights groups angry at his treatment of a young woman who considered him her mentor. Still a divisive figure in spite of his popularity with the grassroots, he is now the frontrunner to succeed Mbeki as South Africa's next president--provided Zuma doesn't get convicted on pending fraud charges first. Zuma's attendance at his first Davos was not announced ahead of time, so those who spotted him were keen for some quick face time.
In person, Zuma was almost as cordial as Thompson. His security guards were less so. Initially taken aback by the flurry, they quickly adapted by becoming unpleasantly aggressive with anyone approaching their boss. Newsweek colleague Dan Gross managed to get in a few questions before being politely moved away; by the time I came by I was subjected to several minutes of yelling and finger jabbing by a guard enraged not because I was talking to Zuma, but because I had gone to talk to a longtime acquaintance standing next to Zuma. Luckily for the skittish guards, the constant influx of VIPs means the spotlight may shine elsewhere next party around.
