Brexit worries to keep Theresa May away from Davos

UK Prime Minister Theresa May, citing domestic concerns, will follow her French and American counterparts by staying away from this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos.

Perhaps unsurprisingly given the current political situation in London, a spokesperson for May announced on Thursday evening that the prime minister would not be attending next week’s WEF meeting in the Swiss mountain town of Davos.

After a thumping defeat was handed her proposed Brexit plan in the House of Commons on Tuesday, May survived a vote of no confidence in her leadership on Wednesday. Parliament has instructed her to return with an alternative plan by next Monday, the opening day of this year’s WEF gathering.

The UK is scheduled to leave the EU on March 29 this year, with or without a plan of orderly action.

In shunning the Davos meeting, which she attended last year, May follows in the wake of Emmanuel Macron, under heavy domestic pressure driven by gilets jaunes protests, and Donald Trump, who cancelled his visit due to an ongoing government shutdown in Washington.

German leader Angela Merkel and Japanese premier Shinzo Abe are two of the major global political figures still scheduled to attend.

This year’s WEF runs from January 21-25. Stay tuned to swissinfo.ch for daily coverage of the major events and announcements from the four-day event.