Theresa May's warning for the global elites

The round of applause at the end of Theresa May's speech was shorter than for that other leader of the capitalist free world, the President of China.

Whereas Xi Jinping's welcome at the World Economic Forum was one usually afforded visiting rock gods, the reaction to Mrs May was rather more polite.

Chilly, even.

Now, the Prime Minister won't worry too much about that.

Yes, she wants to send a message that Britain is open for business and wants a mutually profitable relationship with the European Union. Even if many leaders of the EU are not sure that is actually possible.

But she also wants to send another message back to the UK: I'm visiting the home of the global elites, maybe, but I'm here to warn businesses, not simply celebrate them.

The PM said she backed globalisation and free trade, although not at any cost. And certainly not at the cost of those that feel the rich "play by a different set of rules" - pointing out that trust in business among those on lower incomes languishes at 35%.

Business leaders I spoke to after her speech know that Mrs May is not a fundamentalist when it comes to free markets. Yes, they work, but they need to be controlled.

One cabinet minister told me recently, that the PM was very comfortable with the "interventionist" tag.

We will hear more about that when Mrs May announces the government's industrial strategy next week.

Tough times

One chief executive of a global resources business worth many billions of pounds said that there was an understanding that the PM had been dealt "a pretty tough hand". An exit from the EU she did not back. And the rise of a new and questioning culture of the very tenets of the globalised economic order built since the collapse of communism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.

"We need to get behind her," the chief executive said.

"The decision has been made, Britain needs to be a success. Whatever you thought before the referendum, that has all changed now."

So, although Mrs May's message was on the tough side for business, many firms know that the PM is the only game in town.

And as there is no alternative - to Brexit, to the rising anger of those that feel left behind - many businesses now understand that it's time to change or, as Mrs May made clear today, have that change foisted upon you by the state.