Here at Chronicles, linguistic and intellectual exactitude sometimes makes us harder to read than Finnegan’s Wake. On the other hand, we’ve never been accused of playing to the crowd or worshipping political celebrities. We are not part of the saccharine cesspool that indulges D.C. insiders, such as the neoconservatives and other such shysters, who view us with contempt.

As such, I’m rather proud to write for Chronicles, especially when I read regular contributors like Tom Piatak on his wise and wonderful Polish-American aunt Mary from Cleveland (“How Would Aunt Mary Vote?” November 2024), Roger McGrath on the incredibly brave and talented “Wild Bill Wellman’s Hundred Lives” (December 2024), and of course, everything by our prolific and sainted editor Paul Gottfried. And then there’s Srdja Trifkovic, a tongue-twister in his Christian name only, because his columns are written with ethereal grace and contain the wisdom of the Ancient Greeks. 

This is from Trifkovic’s “Remembering Klemens von Metternich (September 2024): “His impact on European affairs during the first two decades of the 19th century was arguably second only to Napoleon.” Trifkovic then goes on to explain how the great Rhinelander became the architect of political balance following the Congress of Vienna in 1815: “By restoring the European balance of power, his diplomatic finesse helped create the conditions for 99 years of relative peace and unprecedented flourishing within the Old Continent.”

Hear, Hear! We could use a few Metternichs now. Instead we have midgets: Macron instead of Talleyrand; Scholz instead of Hardenberg; and (the biggest joke of them all), Lammi instead of Castlereagh. 

Metternich, like most great men, was a swinger. He was happily married but was always in love with various grand ladies and mistresses. Wilhelmina, Duchess of Sagan, was his favorite, but she also had wandering affections. During the Congress of Vienna, she ran off with the young Austrian nobleman Alfred Windischgrätz. “I am no longer good for anything,” Metternich wrote her in a mournful letter. “I have lived in the space of two years through more torment, pain and sorrow than would be found in 20 years of lives lived by the majority of humans.” Eventually both Metternich’s wife and Talleyrand advised him to perk up and stop feeling sorry for himself. 

He did just that. He spent a night with the fabulously beautiful Russian Princess Catherine Bagration, widow of the hero of the Battle of Borodino, General Prince Pyotr Bagration. The aged general had taken a cannon shot from Napoleon’s troops that partly took his leg off. Though he was bleeding heavily, he refused to be evacuated from Borodino until the battle was over, for fear of harming his troops’ morale. The battle ended inconclusively but put a halt to Napoleon’s advance. Bagration died weeks later from his wounds.

In the late morning after his tryst with Princess Catherine, Metternich was informed that he had missed an opportunity to settle an important border dispute with the Prussians. That is when he responded with one of the loveliest defenses of hanky-panky, “Ah, but she was worth it.”

Srdja writes about Metternich on a higher level; mine are more personal reasons. Tana and Milana Windishgraetz, direct descendants of Metternich’s, are great friends of mine and are both married to grand Italian and German princes. 

Between all the fooling around, the drinking, the dancing, and the debauch, Metternich, Castlereagh, Alexander, Talleyrand, and Augustus managed to seal a deal that kept the peace for 99 years in Europe. Perhaps that’s what’s missing from today’s diplomatic missions. More debauch.

Trifkovic recently wrote in these pages asking for “A Realist Reassessment of America’s Alliance With Israel” (November 2024). What he didn’t write, although I’m certain he thinks it, is that the alliance is strictly one-way. Uncle Sam pays and Israel disobeys, whenever the good Uncle asks for anything. “Israel has shown little moral restraint with scant regard for international law,” Trifkovic wrote, which is as true and valid a statement as I can remember about that perennially troubled country. He then goes on to say that Israel has interests potentially or actually different from those of the United States. Hooray! Finally, a serious person says it out loud. 

I totally agree with Trifkovic that Netanyahu’s government has never wanted a two-state solution and now sees a formula for making it permanently defunct. But I’ll go much further: I believe Israel has engaged in wanton killing in Gaza. It has also achieved a major victory over Iran and Syria. The Palestinians have been permanently removed from the equation and the West Bank will one day be Israel proper.

Lastly, I’m still convinced that Israel will try its best to drag the U.S. into a war with Iran and will attempt to blast away the latter’s nuclear facilities. A reassessment is needed, indeed; Srdja Trifkovic is a very wise man. ◆