Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez says rise in inequality is ‘unacceptable’ at Davos World Economic

SPAIN’S Prime Minister has told attendees at the World Economic Forum that the level of global inequality is “unacceptable” and that it is fuelling the rise in populism.

Pedro Sanchez told those gathered in Davos, Switzerland that economics was not an end in itself and that it had to meet people’s needs.

World leaders and businesspeople needed to remember the “mistakes” that were made during the last financial crisis which had cost the global economy 10 years, the Prime Minister added.

Hoy he defendido en @Davos la importancia de la lucha contra la desigualdad y la necesidad de un modelo económico ecológico e inclusivo para frenar a los populismos nacionalistas.
La tarea de la política es mirar hacia el futuro y dar respuestas a las personas. #WEF19 pic.twitter.com/FjDC3bpmsy

— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) January 23, 2019

“Inequality is destroying our societies. Populism is already the main challenge for democracy and if we had not forgotten that the economy should serve the people maybe it would not have grown to its current level,” Sanchez said.

“The neoliberal economic model offers a hostile world for those who do not belong to the elite,” the Prime Minister added.

The World Economic Forum takes place in Davos every year. It sees politicians, businesspeople and academics gather for talks and meetings on economic, business and financial policy.

Sanchez met with a number of company representatives, including those from Microsoft, Facebook and Amazon.