method itself , insufficient . But that did not prevent him from being involved in key actions to move forward from stalemates . Thus , the decade ’ s story is the transit from idealism to pragmatism . Spinelli , an idealist , did not abjure pragmatic moves , as Monnet , a pragmatist , did not despise but worked to streamline idealism . Jean Monnet wrote : « Rien n ’ est possible sans les hommes , rien n ’ est durable sans les institutions »: such seems to be the meeting point between the two men ’ s otherwise very different methods .
The Manifesto started its dissemination in federalist circles even before its authors and contributors left the island . One of them , Eugenio Colorni , was unfortunately killed shortly before the end of the war . Ursula Hirschman , Eugenio ’ s widow , married Altiero , and the couple renewed and intensified their activism . Spinelli devoted himself to the propulsion of the federalist movement , and joined the Action Party , named after Mazzini ’ s party . Mazzinian thought , for Spinelli , is not just a distant echo , but something deeply linked through a chain of influences stretching to the 19th century ( Ernesto Rossi , Eugenio Colorni , Gaetano Salvemini , Carlo Roselli ). Even if modern lingo opposes nations / nationalism to internationalism , self-rule and international brotherhood are notions perfectly reconciled in Mazzini ’ s texts .
In the next decades , Spinelli was sometimes disappointed with the sluggishness of the unfolding of European unity , but his advice was essential even when a “ moderate ” approach prevailed . Ultimately , he entered the fray of institutional politics . In 1970 , he became European Commissioner . In 1976 , member of the Italian Camera dei Deputati . In 1979 , Member of the European Parliament . At the European Parliament , he led an institutional revolution , at the helm of the Crocodile Club , for the creation of a European federation . In this context , a new committee for institutional reform chaired by Spinelli produced a “ Draft Treaty establishing a European Union ”.
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