Wherever you turn in Davos, you see the World Economic Forum’s modest motto: “Committed to improving the state of the world.” Well, it needs it. So here’s one practical step: the G8 should be expanded to G14, adding China, India, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa and Indonesia. Arbitrary? To be sure. Tactless? You bet. Deeply offensive to some important countries not on that list? Obviously – and they will cry havoc, foul and blue murder…

The dangers of climate change, nuclear proliferation, disease and poverty – not to mention the fragile state of globalised capitalism – demand a more credible and representative cast at the annual intergovernmental summit. As Asia rises, it is ever more absurd that the world’s unofficial top table has a seat for Italy but not for China. The current lineup at the world’s official top table, the UN security council, is not very satisfactory either, but it’s also more difficult to change. The G8, by contrast, is a club that can simply decide to invite new members to join…In principle, there’s no reason why this decision could not be taken at the next annual summit, this summer in Japan…

This reformed group of the world’s most powerful and important countries (power and importance being not quite the same thing) should propose collective actions on climate change, world trade, development, energy security, HIV/Aids and Africa – to take a shortlist from Germany’s G8 summit last year. It makes no sense at all to tackle an issue like climate change without the world’s largest growing carbon emitters, China and India, at the table – which is why leaders of five of my six proposed new members were invited to attend part of that meeting, as the so-called “outreach five”. So why not make it official?

Interesting proposal. Asking the heads of these states to act like “leaders” instead of “powers”.