Canadian Named Italy's Junior Agriculture Minister In Comedy Of Errors

[jimmy olsen]

Italy! 

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/guelph-professor-named-italys-junior-agriculture-minister-in-comedy-of-errors/article2257635/

Guelph professor accidentally named Italy's junior agriculture minister

Dawn Walton
From Friday's Globe and Mail
Published Friday, Dec. 02, 2011 6:00AM EST
Last updated Friday, Dec. 02, 2011 10:28AM EST

An Ontario business professor has gained some unusual personal insight into the financial turmoil plaguing Italy.

Francesco Braga, who teaches derivatives at the University of Guelph, was at his southwestern Ontario home Monday night when he noticed the website of an Italian newspaper had named him the country's new junior minister of agriculture, even though he left his homeland 28 years ago and he has no political affiliation.

"I called my wife and I said, 'Rita look at this,' " he recalled. "She laughed and said, 'It must be somebody else.' I said, 'Yeah, of course.'"

He retired for the evening only to get up a few hours later to mark exams, when at 4:26 a.m., an official-looking e-mail from the Italian agriculture ministry rolled in asking him to call immediately. A new Italian administration, formed after the resignation of Silvio Berlusconi and the appointment of Mario Monti with an eye to getting the country's fiscal house in order, was busy filling new appointments.

Meanwhile, Italian newspaper websites had already posted photos of Prof. Braga, an agronomist with a Ph.D. at his office in Guelph, and the country's new agriculture minister, Mario Catania, was quoted in the press as praising the Italian-Canadian professor even though he only knew him "by reputation."

Then, more e-mails started filling Prof. Braga's inbox.

"A lot of e-mails began arriving from friends, foes and industry people saying, 'Fantastic. We support you,'" Prof. Braga said.

The Italian job must be real, he surmised.

Italian-Canadian dual citizens, such as Prof. Braga, can vote and run as candidates in Italy's parliament. Canada is one such foreign government that allows the diaspora vote under Italian election law and has even sent two Canadians to represent North America in Italy's parliament.

"I was very proud frankly of this achievement," the 53-year-old professor said. "Proud for University of Guelph; proud for Canada."

And then a series of phones calls, including exchanges with the Italian Prime Minister's Office, eventually revealed "some misunderstandings." It seems the posting was meant for Franco Braga, who is a civil engineering professor at Rome's Sapienza University. Italy's new infrastructure minister, Altero Matteoli, had flagged him.

"I recommended him for infrastructure," Mr. Matteoli told the Corriere della Sera newspaper. "But they put him in agriculture." (The same newspaper also called the situation a "comedy of errors.")

Rome's Prof. Braga still hasn't been sworn in, but the Italian PMO says it will happen soon.

And in the meantime, Canada's Prof. Braga has learned that unbeknownst to him, he was indeed in the running for the junior agriculture minister position.

Perhaps the job could still be his, since Prof. Braga of Rome has expertise in construction and seismic activity, which clearly isn't an ideal fit in agriculture, and Prof. Braga of Guelph was actually on the radar.

"It is a bizarre situation," said Mrs. Braga, as her phone rang off the hook with calls from around the world, "For us, it was a quiet week that became very, very strange."

Still, she wasn't surprised by the mix-up, given the woes facing Italy, and the continent for that matter.

"The problems in Europe are huge, but this is small," she said.

When her husband pointed out the misunderstanding during one of his phone calls with Italian officials, the government was not amused.

"If by God, Italy defaulted," Prof. Braga told them, "Well, then let me say, may God protect Italy because you are right now somewhat confused."

Then, the official on the other end hung up.

[The Minsky Moment]

He would have gotten the job if he had been a Ghibelline instead.

[Ed Anger]

one of his phone calls with Italian officials,

I bet he was using a speakerphone, so he could use his hands while talking.

[Barrister]

one of his phone calls with Italian officials,

I bet he was using a speakerphone, so he could use his hands while talking.

Is that the best you can do?

[Ed Anger]

one of his phone calls with Italian officials,

I bet he was using a speakerphone, so he could use his hands while talking.

Is that the best you can do?

Yes. My head hurts and the elbow I had surgery on is bothering me.

[Admiral Yi]

Yes. My head hurts and the elbow I had surgery on is bothering me.

Grab six or seven pills at random from your mountain of illicit painkillers.

[Ed Anger]

Yes. My head hurts and the elbow I had surgery on is bothering me.

Grab six or seven pills at random from your mountain of illicit painkillers.

I love my mound of pills.

[Ideologue]

I want to have a government post in a failed state.

[Ed Anger]

 LEGA NORD! BOSSI! BOSSI! BOSSI!

[Eddie Teach]

It's not nearly as funny when you read the article and see that the guy was also an Italian citizen and eligible for the job.

[Neil]

I want to have a government post in a failed state.

If you can get hired by the US government, you will.

[Razgovory]

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Reminded of this cartoon ran when Silvio left office.  Not quite accurate I suppose.

[jimmy olsen]

It's not nearly as funny when you read the article and see that the guy was also an Italian citizen and eligible for the job.

Actually I think the funniest part is that he's actually more qualified then the man they really nominated.

[Ideologue]

I want to have a government post in a failed state.

If you can get hired by the US government, you will.

[Crazy_Ivan80]

He would have gotten the job if he had been a Ghibelline instead.

my thought exactly