Both the U.S. and Italy are at a crossroads today.  Both are dealing with ideologies that threaten political stability.  Two men, almost alone, have taken courageous stands to bring their respective nations back to sanity.

I have written many times about Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) and his battles with the “utopian” liberals in his party.  He has become a pariah for refusing to back legislation aimed at making the U.S. a welfare state and energy dependent.  The latest round of Democratic back-room haggling to bring Manchin into line has just totally collapsed.  Manchin (orig: Mancini) is now more hated by his own party than Republican Donald Trump – unlike Trump in exile, Manchin is gumming up the works from inside.

The story is a bit different in Italy where Prime Minister Mario Draghi (DRA-ghee) is facing a revolt of one party in the delicate coalition that installed him only 17 months ago.  That party, the Five Star, was created from an anti-government movement.  Essentially, they are ideologues who believe anyone can run a country without experience or knowledge.  One became Mayor of Rome and made a thorough mess.  Does that sound like most of Biden’s cabinet? 

In Italy, when a government collapses the president either calls for a new election or jaw-bones the feuding parties to appoint “technocrats” to run the country until things are resolved.  That’s how Mario Draghi became Prime Minister.  He is a consummate technocrat who, as previous head of the European Central bank, guided the European Union through the financial crises that began with the Greek default.  Not only a technocrat, he is also revered by most Italians and Europeans for his non-partisan political skills.  Under his calm leadership and the UK’s exit from the European Union, Italy has achieved more respect and clout than before.  But with the loss of Five Star support, Draghi tendered his resignation to President Mattarella.  Mattarella refused to accept it.  He knew that if Draghi goes, Italy’s clout in Europe may follow, not to mention the inevitable turmoil in Italian politics.

Sen. Joe Manchin has the same fear for us.  He was never the kingmaker in his party and he has watched as ideologues like Bernie Sanders, Liz Warren, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Pete Buttigieg have taken over the party and spent us into inflation, suppressed fossil fuel production, and made America into a bazaar of racial and gender confusion.  I don’t believe he has any ambition to rule the Democratic Party, but his traditional views, born of Italian and Middle American values, have made him an outcast within it.  Yet, he continues to stand his ground.

Leftist activists in kayaks haunt him at his DC home (a dockside boat).  They label him a lackey of the West Virginia coal industry.  The “unbiased” media taunt him for owning an Italian car. “All right, Joe Manchin a multi-millionaire with a Maserati and a family coal business says no on a climate deal,” [CBS anchor Tony Dokoupil].  For the record, you can buy a Maserati for around $100,000 or lease one for maybe $1,000 per month – being a millionaire is not required.  Also, coal is still indispensable for energy.  Just ask Red China and India who are the real coal culprits in Climate Change.

Both Manchin and Draghi share the same position on Ukraine.  Manchin has voiced his priority of stopping Russian aggression over Biden’s Climate agenda:  “Right now is how do…we make sure that Ukraine wins this war?”  Draghi was an early proponent of Ukraine aid: “whatever it takes to restore Ukrainian sovereignty”.  He added [it’s] “impossible to have meaningful dialogue with Moscow”.  In May, Italy allocated 500 million euros to support Ukrainians arriving in Italy and 110 million in financial assistance for the Ukrainian government, as well as military supplies.

One other accomplishment by Mario Draghi that struck me was his 2021 deal with France, known as the “Quirinal Treaty” (signed in Mattarella’s Presidential Palace).  It is a comprehensive alliance within the EU between France and Italy to coordinate nearly every aspect of their domestic and foreign policies – a hedge against German domination.  Both Mussolini and Charles De Gaulle envisioned a connection of “Latin sisters,” but such a close relationship eluded both men.

Mario Draghi and Joe Manchin are too vital to lose in the battle with ideologues. -JLM