Howard Lutnick heckled at Davos dinner as Christine Lagarde walks out

US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick was heckled at a World Economic Forum dinner in Davos, with European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde walking out during his speech.

The gathering on Tuesday night descended into uproar after combative remarks from Lutnick, according to several people present, with widespread jeering amid appeals for calm from BlackRock’s Larry Fink, the host of the event and interim co-chair of the WEF.

Lagarde was among the attendees who walked out during the speech, according to people familiar with the matter.

This year’s gathering in the Alps has the theme: “A spirit of dialogue.”

Lutnick told his audience that the world should focus on coal as an energy source rather than renewables, according to one person present, and made dismissive comments about Europe.

He had earlier on Tuesday written an op-ed for the FT in which he said: “We’re not going to Davos to uphold the status quo. We’re going to confront it head-on.”

He also wrote: “We are here at Davos to make one thing crystal clear: With President Trump, capitalism has a new sheriff in town.”

One chief executive present described the atmosphere as “tense”, while another said it was “noisy and spicy”.

One of the hecklers was Al Gore, the former US vice-president, according to two executives present.

The US commerce department said: “Only one person booed, and it was Al Gore.”

Gore said: “I sat and listened to his remarks. I didn’t interrupt him in any way. It’s no secret that I think this administration’s energy policy is insane. And at the end of his speech I reacted with how I felt, and so did several others.” 

Fink has sought to stabilise the WEF after a tumultuous chapter under the leadership of Klaus Schwab in which the organisation was rocked by allegations of financial misconduct and a toxic work environment. An investigation cleared Schwab of misconduct allegations.

Fink and Roche vice-chair André Hoffmann have headed up the WEF’s governing board since August.

Fink told the FT before the conference: “We are living in a more polarising world. There’s more people talking at each other, not to each other.” He added: “It is my role to elevate everybody and have a serious conversation.”

US and EU relations are at a low ebb after the US president threatened to impose new tariffs on certain European countries if he is not allowed to “acquire” Greenland.

The WEF did not respond to a request for comment.

The ECB declined to comment.

Reporting by Tom Braithwaite, Arash Massoudi, Ortenca Aliaj, Mercedes Ruehl, Olaf Storbeck and Stephen Morris