The absence of the 'man of the moment' whose stirring victory has caught everyone's imagination from the G-20 Summit on the global financial crisis is likely to rob it of some of its gloss.
US President-elect Barack Obama has decided to stay put at his Chicago home and keep away from the G20 Summit being held in Washington DC over the weekend.
His aides said Obama has decided to steer clear of the Summit as he believes there is only one President at a time, and till he enters the White House officially on January 20, the US President is George W Bush.
Obama's advisors, however, are likely to meet with world leaders who will be in Washington to attend the Group of 20 Summit.
It may be recalled outgoing US President Bush had proposed the G20 Summit on the financial markets and world economy to find ways to tackle the greatest financial crisis to hit the world in over eight decades and come up with solutions that would get global growth back on track.
Meanwhile, economists have said that even if Obama had wanted to attend the G20 Summit, he would not have had time to be ready for it, considering the fact that he has yet to select members of his economic team.
The G20, founded on September 25, 1999 in Washington, comprises India, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United States, the European Union, and the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
Image: US President-elect Barack Obama speaks to the press on in Chicago. | Photograph: Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images