Saturday, February 15

John Elkann - Grandson of Gianni Agnelli - Got "There" all on his own

This cartoon - by the inimitable GianFalco (illustrator of my book, Burnt by the Tuscan Sun) - perfectly encapsulates how John Elkann, like most entitled people around who cannot fathom how the 99% actually live, really put his foot in it.  Like Berlusconi before him, who so infamously stated that young women graduates, looking for a future, need to "find a rich husband - like one of my sons" in order to make it, career advice is unwanted from this lightweight and "nipote" of Gianni Agnelli [it's where we get the term nepotism from], the man who's father put him in the automotive business.
Prior to joining the very top echelon of the FIAT Corporation, a company which professes to be a capitalist institution, this 'champagnone' (as my colleagues & I liked to call them) came to the Company with an impressive resume' -- that of being able to uncork champagne bottles on the pistes of Davos, Switzerland.  His mother probably made his travel arrangements & changed his money back then and probably still chooses his business attire today.
He stated that, in a country where 48% of the youth are unemployed, septuagenarians occupy most company / public / university / and political posts, and where graduates are leaving by the throngs, that jobs are plentiful and youth today just need to try harder and not be so comfy at home.  While, indeed, there is a certain malaise with these 'bamboccioni', the idea that Italy is a free-wheeling, free market when it comes to labor, getting hired and all the rest, is risible, at best. Most jobs are found through personal contacts, not recruiters.  But still, hearing this advice from a guy who 'worked his way to the top' by playing with his toy Alfa Romeos better than the rest is insulting.
So, hats off to Gianfalco for perfectly capturing the zeitgeist and poking fun at our little nipote:
Yeah, right. Elkann really 'came to it' all on his own
Yeah-good thing he didn't say some one gave him a helping hand...
that way he would've climaxed even easier

click on links above
for more Gianfalco cartoons, check out the tab "cartoon of the week" or visit his (Italian) website or Open Salon page in English.

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