So, the long awaited, star studded, environmentally toxic knot tying of tycoon Jeff Bezos and journalist & media personality Lauren Sánchez in Venice is over and I guess the love birds may be finishing some kind of honeymoon on the yacht or, who knows, maybe on Blue Origin space capsule. And apparently, I was not invited, unless the email invitation got swallowed by my spam filter. I have not seen the complete list of the invitees, but I thought I would give you my idea about a few European politicians who should have been invited.
First and foremost, Giorgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister, which is normal. After all, Venice is in Italy, and she is a conservative. The only problem is that being separated from her partner, she does not have a ‘cavalier’ to accompany her. She does often wear white though, a symbol of purity and peace. Maybe she will get lucky and catch the bride’s bouquet.
I initially also thought of Pedro Sánchez, the socialist prime minister of Spain. Then, realizing that he is a lefty, and does not agree to handing over 5% of his country’s GDP to Mark Rutte, Nato’s general secretary, for Trump’s war machine, I figured Jeff and Lauren would not appreciate him. In addition, there would be a risk that the identical last names between Pedro and Lauren may cause suspicion of nepotism in state affairs.
Speaking of Rutte, I think he has everything to make him a prime invitee. He is a conservative, pro-business ; he is Dutch, thus is not loud ; he is now the secretary general of Nato, an organization very dear to Giorgia Meloni, and he calls Trump ‘Daddy’. Last but not the least, he is single, so a perfect ‘cavalier’ for Giorgia.
On the other hand, Mark Rutte can also pick Kaja Kallas, EU representative for foreign affairs, who is also single after her separation. They share their mistrust of Russia, and can talk about it while saluting the bride and groom.
As for Prince Emmanuel of France, I would hesitate, even though he has ‘tout d’un grand’. You see, I am worried that he would say something to his wife, Brigitte, who would slap him again, this time in public, and that would embarrass everyone.
Last, but not the least, I am thinking that such an event roster is not complete if a dignitary from Germany is not attending. But who ? The previous chancellor, Olaf Scholz, looked so miserable and rigid all his four years in the office that I am afraid he may turn out to be a party pooper. I do understand that the destruction of his cheap-gas Russian pipeline gave him a bit of stress during most of his term, especially since he had to buy expensive LNG replacement from Uncle Sam. On the other hand, the new chancellor, Friedrich Merz, smiles a bit more, and is so engaged in making Germany great again, that as soon as he took power, he decided he could give long range weapons to Ukraine, so that they can beat up on Russia. But it looks like so far it has been more words than action. Then again there is always Annalena Baerbock the green- party originated ex German foreign minister, who also wanted to make Germany great again. Oh wait, she is also separated from her partner, and thus will be competing with Giorgia and Kaja for the bride’s bouquet.
Hmmm, why are so many women of power, at least in Europe, living broken relationships these days?
Paris, July 10, 2025,
Zeejay