Former US President Bill Clinton urged Barack Obama to forge ahead with his plans economic stimulus despite Republican opposition, predicting that his bi-partisan approach would soon pay off.

Speaking before world leaders at a packed session Davos, Mr Clinton recalled battles in his early days in office to get his economic stimulus plan through Congress.

"They all opposed my economic plan in 2003 as well," he said. "The minority party tends to think their first two or three votes are free."

"But I think some Republicans will support it," Mr Clinton continued. "Some of them will have to come along and if they don’t they pay a big price of being seen to be standing in the way."

Last night, President's Obama's $825 billion plan to revive the US econony was passed by the House of Representatives, but received no support from the Republicans. The plan is widely expected to be passed by the Senate today.

Mr Clinton was among the most upbeat of world business and political leaders meeting at a decidedly less glittery Davos this year amid general gloom over the prospects for a fast recovery.

His "Conversation with Bill Clinton" was among the forum’s most oversubscribed events with hundreds of delegates spilling over into conference rooms to watch him by video link.

Earlier, the Associated Press reported that financial statements filed by his wife Hillary Clinton, the new US secretary of state, showed that his public speaking engagements had earned him $6 million over the past year.

Mr. Clinton proved his appeal as a speaker, working laughs out of the deflated Davos audiences over the subject of Vladimir Putin’s muscular repudiation of state interference. "I’m glad to hear Prime Minister Putin come out for free enterprise," he quipped. "I hope it works for him."

But he agreed with Putin – and the Chinese premier, Wen Jiabao’s – assertion that the roots of the financial crisis lay in the US. "The Chinese premier was right: It all started in the United States," Mr. Clinton said. "America has to lead the way.

He warned, however, that America could not get the world out of the crisis on its own, and cautioned against expectations of an early recovery.

Mr. Obama’s plan to spend his way out of the crisis was the right move, he said, but would not pay off swiftly. "All the economic analysis shows you get bigger growth out of investment," he said. "The investments best for American over the long term don’t always have the quickest payouts."

He added: Keep in mind they just got there, they’re doing pretty well.

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