In the morning of May 13 a group of 15 young European leaders from politics, government, business and the media visited CenterAustria at the University of New Orleans as part of their 3-week tour through the United States and visit of New Orleans concluding their sojourn.

This group came to the U.S. under the auspices of the notable “International Visitor Leadership Program” of the U.S. Department of State. In New Orleans the European groups were particularly interested in homeland security and recovery efforts and the role of activists in social issues. The two-hour program organized by CenterAustria briefed them on current issues in U.S. – European relations, including President Obama’s foreign and health reform policies, as well as religion in politics.

The UNO briefers were Gűnter Bischof (History), Walter Lane (Economics), Charles Hadley (Political Science), Peter Moser (Ambassador-in-Residence and Marshall Plan Chair), as well as Marion Wieser (Tulane University, Political Science). The distinguished group of European leaders hailing from a dozen different countries asked sharp questions such as the income gap in the U.S., the future of SDI, Obama’s current political standing and his seeming passivity in foreign policy issues, and the violence among pro-life activists in the U.S and spawned some lively debates.