The Fountain of Youth

So, the pundits are in and so is Berlusconi's new cabinet. The average age seems to be a wonderfully low (and never before seen nor heard nor done) 52. This is nothing short of revolutionary in a country in which youth is seriously frowned upon (although one look at the 30-something bamboccionis playing video games in local bars...and, well, I too would practice reverse age discrimination).

But, perhaps that was simply pre-botox...or pre-Berlusconi (same thing). It would appear that he thinks that by surrounding himself with young Ministers, he'll trim a few years off his 70+ size. He may never need hair implants again...!

But, I will take a reader's advice and give you the real age breakdown:

MEN = 54 (still nothing short of miraculous)

WOMEN = 35 (still nothing short of miraculous, given that they're actually over 30 -- just look at the TV programs).

And, as a service to my readers, since no one is coughing it up, here is my full listing, happily gleaned from Wikipedia entries:

THE NEW ITALIAN GOVERNMENT MINISTERS

Berlusconi 71

Ministers with portfolio

Foreign Affairs: Franco Frattini; 51
Interior: Roberto Maroni; 53
Justice: Angelino Alfano; 37
Economy: Giulio Tremonti; 60
Defence: Ignazio La Russa; 61
Economic Development:Claudio Scajola; 60
Education: Mariastella Gelmini; 34
Agriculture: Luca Zaia; 40
Environment: Stefania Prestigiacomo; 42
Public Works: Altero Matteoli; 68
Welfare: Maurizio Sacconi; 58
Cultural Heritage: Sandro Bondi 49 (dubious entry, just look at his photo)

Ministers without portfolio
Reforms Umberto Bossi; 66
Simplification: Roberto Calderoli; 52
Implementation: Gianfranco Rotondi; 48
EC Policy: Andrea Ronchi; 53
Equal Opportunities: Mara Carfagna; 33
Regional Affairs: Raffaele Fitto; 39
Youth Policy: Giorgia Meloni; 31
Relations with Parliament: Elio Vito; 48
Innovation: Renato Brunetta. 58


Who knows? Maybe this practice will have an impact on the other institutions like Colleges & Corporations, where the average age is probably more like 79.