Last week, the World Economic Forum (WEF) brought thousands of neoliberal elites – as well as an army of feted journalists and scholars – to the popular Swiss ski resort of Davos. There, the emerging relationship between the Davos set and far-right populists was plain to see. And it is far rosier than either party would like to admit.

In the absence of Donald Trump, the spotlight was on Jair Bolsonaro, the newly minted president of Brazil, who was also the keynote speaker at the WEF. Attendees were initially somewhat uneasy with the far-right president, who openly praised military dictatorship, and therefore mostly held their applause before his speech. But after he had touted “a new Brazil … that’s open to business”, the room warmed up rapidly.

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Francesco Starace, chief executive at the Italian electricity multinational Enel, probably spoke for most people in the room when he said: “If it is populist or not populist, we don’t care – it is a reform agenda that we think is good for the country” – and for WEF attendees, obviously.

In addition, the Austrian chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, one of the most vocal supporters of the normalization of the populist radical right in Europe, was given a full panel to lay out his vision of a “new global architecture”. Of course, some critics of the far right were given airtime too. The historian Timothy Snyder, who has been issuing alarmist warnings about the threat of totalitarianism, was on two panels. But the overarching message being sent at Davos was: far-right populists are welcome here.

In fact, the reception of the likes of Kurz – and especially Bolsonaro – at WEF is chillingly similar to the way that neoliberal elites have responded to Trump, who was initially received with hesitation, but was quickly normalized and is increasingly embraced. Just think about the praise that chief executives of the Business Roundtable heaped on Trump for his “aggressive” deregulation policies, for example.

Quick guide What is Davos 2020? Show Hide Davos is a Swiss ski resort now more famous for hosting the annual four-day conference for the World Economic Forum. For participants it is a festival of networking. Getting an invitation is a sign you have made it – and the elaborate system of badges reveals your place in the Davos hierarchy. The meeting is sponsored by a huge number of international banks and corporations.

For critics, “Davos man” is shorthand for the globe-trotting elite, disconnected from their home countries after spending too much time in the club-class lounge. Others just wonder if it is all a big waste of time. The 2020 meeting is being advertised as focusing on seven themes: Fairer economies, better business, healthy futures, future of work, tech for good, beyond geopolitics and how to save the planet. Young climate activists and school strikers from around the world will be present at the event to put pressure on world leaders over that last theme.

Meanwhile, elites are railing against the kind of “populism” that actually threatens their interests: so-called “leftwing populism”, which in most cases is just old-school social democracy. Take, for example, former Starbucks chief executive Howard Schultz. Schulz likes to present himself as being against both the far right and the left, but most of his critique is directed at Democrats, not Trump. In particular, his ire is focused at new Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, whose proposal for a maximum tax bracket of 70% he described as “not American”. His main political enemy is clearly on the left, not the right.

No doubt the Koch brothers would agree. In the last few weeks their donor network, led by industrialist billionaire Charles Koch, made the news with several new initiatives. For instance, the Koch network told donors that it will stay out of the 2020 race, which was broadly seen as a snub of Trump. And it announced the launch of a new organization to focus on changing K-12 education. In both cases, the Koch network confirmed Charles Koch’s previously expressed willingness to work with Democrats “who share their values”.

What does this shift represent? Having tamed the rightwing populist challenger, they are now turning their attention to the possible leftwing populist backlash that politicians like Trump are creating. Brian Hooks, chairman of the Koch network, made clear that the objective of their new education initiative is to find “a better way” than the recent teacher strikes. Art Pope, one of the donors, was less diplomatic. He said his support for the Koch education initiative was motivated by his concern about the popularity of socialism among students. “It used to be you didn’t have to have a serious conversation about socialism in American politics. Now you do.”

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Concretely, the Koch network and its donors are not so much afraid of Bernie Sanders, but of his political offspring, like Ocasio-Cortez, who could construct the political alliance that could not only overthrow the current rightwing (populist) powers, but also the liberal elites within the opposition.

In short, neoliberal elites from Davos to Seattle do not oppose the rightwing populist agenda. They are trying to shape the post-Trump world, in which big business can amass profits unopposed by largely privatized and underfunded states. Neoliberal elites like the Koch brothers try to build up the “centrist” opposition, including the “pro-business” camp in the Democratic party, by seducing them with much-needed cash for the undoubtedly brutally competitive 2020 Democratic primaries. And they try to convince both elites and masses that “extremist” ideas like Ocasio-Cortez’s 70% tax rate or Bernie Sanders’ Medicare for all will drive away “moderate” voters and, therefore, enable Trump to be re-elected.

Liberals should not be seduced by their money, or scared by their propaganda. To defend, or reinstate, liberal democracy, they have to not only fight rightwing populists, but also their neoliberal enablers. Social justice can only be achieved when the perverse privileges and wealth of the neoliberal elites are significantly limited. And the Davos class will be no ally in that fight. They have made it abundantly clear: they will take a rightwing populist over a leftwing one any day.

• Cas Mudde is a Guardian columnist