The annual Bilderberg Conference gets underway in Austria on Thursday, bringing together a group of 140 of the world’s biggest corporate and political leaders for a long weekend of hobnobbing without any witnesses or reporters taking note of what they’re actually talking about.

The guest list is the only way to extrapolate what is going on there.  Bilderberg issues no detailed agenda, proposes no resolutions.  It doesn’t take votes nor issue policy statements.  Several names from the security and intelligence worlds suggest that Islamic State and Ukraine will be prime topics of discussion.

The official guest list of 140 participants doesn’t contain the names of any Australians, which isn’t to say that there won’t be any.  In past years, Bilderberg watchers have caught glimpses of surprising guests being chauffeured to the meetings in the back of darkened limousines.  And not everyone who goes is on the guest list.  For example, US Presidential Candidate Jeb Bush just happens to be making a series of appearances in Germany and Poland – just a short helicopter ride from the Inter-Alpen Hotel compound in Telfs-Buchen, Austria.

Others don’t actually hold any offices at the moment.  Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Ed Balls who just lost his US Parliament seat, and former European Commission president Jose Barroso come to mind.  But the fact that they’re invited suggests they still wield considerable influence. 

Security is air tight.  The Hotel Inter-Alpen Tirol is surrounded by picturesque mountains and forest.  A no-fly zone is imposed over the area, and military helicopters are circling to make sure it is enforced.  There are only a couple of roads in and out of there and they are locked down with paramilitary checkpoints and cops with automatic weapons.  Journalists have been told that taking photos of police will result in an automatic seven-day detention.