Welcome to the New Old World

Mara Carfagna.

You've never heard of her, you mutter?

Welcome to the first in our new and sporadic series: Upwardly Mobile Eurotrash.

We will be showcasing heart-stopping exemplars of the ever-expanding, and soon to be nation state, the Sovereign Supremely Supranational Social-ha! European Union.

Tonight's eurodamsel comes with a delightfully eclectic portfolio, and, no, not what you're thinking, unless you're thinking of her very early work.

Yes, this former "showgirl" [and I have no idea what the Italian street means by this term], law school graduate, topless Maxim model, politician, object of Silvio Berlusconi's ever lustful attentions, now has a brand new gig: Minister of Equal Opportunity [hell, yes] in the Berlusconi's cabinet.

Yes, once upon a time the United States was known for being the place where anything was possible, the sky was the limit, as long as you worked hard, never had sex, greased all the right palms and kept your mouth shut. Any little boy or girl could make it to the top of whatever slag heap, no matter how poor, how off-color, how dim-witted he or she might be.

[Our other series, Downwardly Mobile Former Trailer Trash Celebrities and Politicians will be running concurrently, but even more sporadically, with this series.]

But now it's our turn. The American Dream is now the EuroDream. A land of peace and plenty, with no glass ceilings anywhere. Just a bit, you know, sexier and more ironic.