SAN FRANCISCO
Lee Heidhues 3.1.2024
It’s true. President Biden will deal with whomever he needs to secure allies in the fight against Putin’s aggression against Ukraine. Now it in its third year.
Biden’s latest ally is Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The far-right prime minister elected two years ago and the subject of derision at the time.
The President is in a tough place. The Republicans in Congress refuse to approve additional funding. Wannabe president again Trump, whose control of the GOP is unassailable has terrorized his troops with his opposition to more funding.
So, Biden is happy to receive support from wherever he can find it. Drink the cappuccino.
Excerpted from The New York Times 3.1.2024
President Biden turned to an unlikely ally on Friday in his drive to build support for Ukraine’s war effort as U.S. aid falters, declaring during a White House visit by the far-right prime minister of Italy that the two leaders “have each other’s backs” and “have Ukraine’s back.”
The warm tone, a striking departure from Mr. Biden’s assessment of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni when she was elected, extended to a number of foreign policy fronts, as the leaders sought to portray themselves as united on topics including confronting global migration and trying to prevent a broader war in the Middle East.
Mr. Biden’s embrace of Ms. Meloni has come as a surprise after he expressed concern for democracy when she rose to power. Her party, the Brothers of Italy, has roots in the neo-fascist factions that emerged after World War II.
“She hails from Europe’s far right, and her coalition contains influential voices that are much more pro-Russian and sympathetic to Putin than the European mainstream, yet she has bucked that trend and located Italy firmly in the trans-Atlantic camp that is committed to supporting Ukraine,” said Charles A. Kupchan, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a Europe adviser on the National Security Council in the Obama administration.
“As you said when we first met here in the Oval, Giorgia, that we have each other’s backs,” Mr. Biden said. “We do, and you’ve demonstrated that from the moment you took office.”
Mr. Biden highlighted their unity on Kyiv’s efforts to fend off an invasion by President Vladimir V. Putin’s Russia, creating a contrast with conservatives in Congress. “We also have Ukraine’s back,” Mr. Biden said. “That’s why I’m urging the House of Representatives to pass legislation” that would send billions of dollars to fund the war effort.
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