Anders Eldrup: This is the Bilderberg today

15th March 2012 at. 14:41

Anders Eldrup reveals here a number of details on the meetings of the secret and mysterious group Bilderberg.

By: Thomas Hoffmann, journalist

Note: This article was first published 16th april 2011 - So long before the current trouble in DONG, where CEO Anders Eldrup has now left the company. The article below appears as it was brought first time:

Videnskab.dk (Science.dk) told about the organization Bilderberg, which according to conspiracy theorists have so much power that they can trigger disasters like terrorist attacks, economic crises and earthquakes.

Bilderberg meetings are attended by some of the world's most powerful men, and they are held behind closed doors. But discussing the Assembly really supremacy that skeptics fear? Part of the secret agreements on world development and controls the crucial decisions about money and power?

Director of energy company DONG, Anders Eldrup, have to be responsible for the Danish delegation has been a regular participant in meetings over the past 10 years.

Here he lifts for the first time a large part of the veil of what is happening at the annual meetings of fine hotels in different parts of the western world.

Anders Eldrup, let's start from top down: How were you part of Bilderberg?

"Bilderberg is so completely superior to the effect that people from European countries and the U.S. would like to work together and strengthen relationships. Each European country has an 'organizer', which has the task of finding out who to invite each year. '

"The task has been for some years, and then takes another over: it rotates. For about 10 years ago was Tøger Seidenfaden Danish organizer. He rang up and invited me to one of two tickets. It was very interesting. "

"A year or two later had Tøger his 'military service' done (referring to Bilderberg), an organizer is shown in 6-8 years. So he had to find another, and I think he had first thought of a third party who said no - but then he asked me then whether I could be 'Mr. Denmark 'and organize it here. That way, I think I made a last minute, but I said yes because I thought it would be interesting to learn about what it was. "

Why did you say yes? So: what do you get out of being at the meetings?

"I basically Bilderberg nothing more than a conference in an infinite series of conferences that exist. And what make you get out of this one? It is impossible to say exactly, but they usually become a little wiser. "

"The essence of Bilderberg is that over the years has managed to invite some pretty interesting people. These are important criteria when you go to conference, whom you meet and what is going on. "

"Bilderberg is also special because it is a co-production between Europe and America. Normally you can still get important people from Europe to come to conferences, but it's mostly not a simple matter to get Americans to travel to Europe. It's the administrative part of the organization there's good at it. There are typically senior people from the administration, sometimes ministers and deputy ministers. "

"Normally I would not be meeting senior officials and politicians from the United States once a year and hear their assessments of the themes that we put on the agenda. It is one of the things I get out of being there. "

"You can debate whether DONG can readily use it for anything, but has a broader interest in social issues, it's very interesting to hear their perspective on things."

How does such a meeting?

"We meet for 2 ½ days. It's the same as any other conferences set an agenda with topics and called up people who are knowledgeable about the topics and make presentations. Typically with an American and a European who doesn't completely agree, a speech each. It is relatively short, 5-10 min. "

"The rest of the time there is free debate, and by virtue of the fact that you have invited people who are accustomed to speak out in public gatherings, there's very active participation from the audience. So when the presentations from two keynote speakers are given, there is a lot of people who ask for the floor and think a lot about the subject. Then run the debate. It lasts probably 1 ½ hours, and then the subject was illuminated from a variety of viewpoints. "

What do you do when the debate is finished?

"Then there's a coffee break and the next topic begins. There are absolutely no conclusions, and there is no operative within it. Nobody will use it for anything. Is it so useful, you may ask? Yes, but I think for my part, it is interesting to learn more about the themes that are up. "

What issues are you talking about?

"There's always a lot about security politics and it is always interesting. Economic policy takes up too much, especially when it goes bad. Bill Gates has, for example. been here and talk about his views on the energy sector, which he curiously had a lot of intrests. One year there was also a theme of his huge donation to developing countries, it was also interesting. "

"We have in recent years also had a theme on it and very apropos in relation to North Africa: what does it mean that the Internet and new media play a role in how democracy and societies evolve? The themes of the sort where you can then ask whether you can use it for anything specific, but ... "

Is there an element of having some good stories to share with their grandchildren?
"Yes, it's probably something namedropping in it. Henry Kissinger, for instance. been since time immemorial, and I even fell in the ditch by a company to tell you that I have met with Kissinger. "

"At some point you also grow from it. Of course there may still be a little about it, but most are quite robust, the snob effect is of limited value. "

"I think the interesting thing is, when organizing the meeting, has been able to put interesting items on the agenda and get key people to illustrate them."

"I have already mentioned some names. Eric Schmidt of Google has also been there when we've talked about it, as otherwise I do not understand. It's pretty interesting to hear what he thinks about it and it's not every day I run into him. "

It appears from old records that, at least until the 1970s was important to keep large and luxurious meetings. Can you recognize the picture still?

"Yes, because it is a conference. But it is slightly different from country to country, and some do more of it than others. Usually takes place at a convention hotel, which is a nicer hotel, but not extreme luxury. It is neat and tidy and cozy, but nothing extravagant. We are fed several times a day, but so be it at conferences. "

"Sometimes when there are ministers, there are some security around it, but if it's anything, it's more of a bother."

Bilderberg has a policy of keeping the content of the meetings secret from the outside world. Why?

"The rules are more than 50 years old and includes many other conferences: When you participate in a conference, refers not to a 'Pedersen' and 'Hansen' said this or that. The whole idea is that you have to have a discussion on the floor where people can say what they think and do not weigh their words on a gold weight. You might be embarrassed if they stood in the newspaper the day after 'Hansen' had asked about something stupid, and it would destroy the open discussion. One must well learn from it and use the new knowledge itself, but one should not quote the rest. "

'To illustrate, there is every year a number of journalists not to report, but because they also need training. They should just not write about what they see and hear. It also shows that it does not so closed and secret. Was this is why we do not have journalists. "

Who's the journalists come with at meetings?

"They are selected on the basis of an estimate of whether they can contribute something interesting. I actually do not know why Tøger in his time were selected. '
"I think in general, it was a good choice, and Tøger was very popular down there. He could participate in qualified diverse debates and in the same way in other countries found someone who sticks out a little. "

Who invited you?

"I have also tried in these years that I have proposed Danish participants to find someone who sticks out a little. It does not work exactly the way every year, but typically I invite a politician and a businessman, so you have two sectors. "

'Within the policy I have tried to vary it a bit and especially getting younger, although it sometimes is a little difficult. I personally believe that it is a very good training for young, aspiring Danish politicians to sit there for 2 ½ days and get the kaleidoscopic views over the concerns of thoughtful people about the major problems that haunts the world at the moment. "

"We get a little smallholder-ish and sometimes allotment view in Denmark. I hope I could make a small contribution to that someone has received an additional perspective on life. "

But there is no Danish politicians this year ..?

"This is the first year when it failed to get a politician, but I've tried. It has something to do with the campaign that no one knows when coming, so I had to give up. Instead, the Peter Schütze from Nordea and Ulrik Federspiel, who has had an interesting career at first foreign and state ministries and now in Haldor Topsoe. "

Speaking of the powerful men: Is it you who controls the world?

"Absolutely not. It is completely absurd. I've read something good about it, but like I said, there will not be adopted or decided anything. The meetings are nowhere near that one must believe something like that. It's all driven by the fact that people believe different things, so you can get a good debate. There is no attempt to conclude that no authority, and you can not use a conclusion to something, because it's his personal capacity. "

"When you go home and sit in his private chair, one can reflect on whether there is anything that you can use. The second is just crazy. All that hype about it, it's shot on the side. "

It is more about networking?

"Yeah, like at other conferences. Each conference has an element of networking and learning something new. This is exactly the same way. "

You have been the organizer for years and will probably soon end. Who will succeed you?

"Yes, I sing the last verse. Not because I'm tired of it, but because the set-up is such that there must be others, so you get some rotation. "

"My successor must be someone who is interested in it. It does not take terribly much time, but it is not enough to be a good businessman, because the discussion is about more than what is on the bottom lines. It should be a broader interest in social issues, where economy is an important part. It should not be a politician, but one that has a platform and can operate in this. "

"It must also be with a certain status so he can persuade the leading Danish politicians to attend. It is the main issue: When you go to people and ask if they want to participate, then they must listen. "