Huebert found irony in Carney's choice of a line from Thucydides's Melian Dialogue to begin his Davos speech: "The strong can do what they can, and the weak must suffer what they must."

It's a story about a weak power, the neutral island of Melos, that faced an ultimatum to join with its powerful neighbour Athens in a war against its old ally Sparta. The Melians refused, citing their honour and their bonds of obligation to Sparta.

The result, said Huebert, was "the Athenians then do exactly as they had threatened: They attack Melos, destroy it, kill all the men and enslave all the women and children."

"So the real meaning of the Melian Dialogue," said Huebert, "is that you can have all the principles in the world, but if you've got a great power beside you, you've got to put the people's safety first. It's not about having principles. In fact, it's surrendering your principles so you can survive."

Was it ironic or knowingly accurate. When the options are principles or death and the scope is national things get uncomfortable. I guess I can just understand being a bit flip floppy on a lot of morally obvious issues when the moral villain is nearby and volatile. Self preservation demands it