I am a literary giant in Europe

Chapter 701 The Minister's Lover (Finally, Chapter 700! ^_^)

The doorbell rang.

Two large dogs were barking downstairs.

Liu Jin, supporting his back, came downstairs and opened the door.

"Mr. Amos, please enjoy your pizza and chickpea soup."

"Thank you!"

Liu Jin handed the deliveryman the payment for the meal, plus a 20 euro tip.

He closed the door and looked at the two large bowls, which were completely empty.

Liu Jin added dog food and water for them, then went upstairs and opened a can for Eva the tabby cat.

Then he returned to his bedroom.

Turn on the lights in the room; the bedroom is a complete mess.

Mara lifted the thin blanket, got off the bed, walked over and kissed Liu Jin, then went into the bathroom.

This is outrageous!
We fought all day!

It was already dark outside.

Liu Jin was too lazy to clean up, so he simply sat on the ground and spread the food on the floor.

After taking a sip of chickpea soup, a strange sense of satisfaction welled up inside me.

My kidneys feel warm.

Mara came out of the bathroom in her pajamas.

She glanced at the food on the ground, but without any disgust, she sat down next to Liu Jin and picked up a steaming hot pizza.

Eva slipped in through the crack in the door, jumped onto the bed, and stared at Mara.

"It's watching you."

"Haha, what a good cat."

Both of them were hungry and wolfed down their food.

"Hey, this pizza is pretty good, it doesn't seem any worse than Italian pizza."

"Pizza Lopez, ranked fifth in Toulouse and 1467th in Europe, is considered the best pizza in the area."

Where did you get this ranking from?

"Sky TV came up with this... You know, Great Britain doesn't really have any food to be proud of besides fish and chips."

Mara was overjoyed upon hearing this.

"If this gets out, you will immediately become the most unpopular foreigner in Great Britain."

"That's true, otherwise the best restaurants in London are either French, Italian, Turkish, Japanese, or Chinese. To be honest, when I went to London at the beginning of the year, I didn't get to eat a single authentic British meal."

To be honest, John Bull really likes to create rankings.

At the beginning of the year, Liu Jin ranked eighth among Europe's top 100 authors, higher than Rowling.

These guys are always stirring up trouble... which certainly lives up to their reputation as European troublemakers.

"The best pizza in Toulouse is Tutti Pizza, but it's a bit far, and I'm afraid it will be cold when it arrives."

"That's true."

Mara was a little full after eating two pieces.

So he got up and walked outside, saying as he went, "Would you like some coffee?"

Will you do it?

Liu Jin carried the pizza and chickpea soup downstairs to the living room on the second floor.

He took out the moka pot and the coffee grinder and handed them to Mara.

Grinding coffee by hand is an essential skill for every Italian woman.

Monica Bellucci's coffee is excellent, but Mara's is just as good.

As she ground coffee, she said, "Silvio has been re-elected."

Liu Jin stood behind the table, finished his chickpea soup, and asked in surprise, "When?"

"The 13th, the same day as the parliamentary election."

"He'll be so smug now, he's got what he wanted."

"Ha, that's true... He's been preparing for this day for two years."

Maca puts the ground coffee beans evenly into the coffee box of the moka pot, smooths it with filter paper, adds water, and starts brewing.

"I owe my successful election as a member of parliament to his support behind the scenes."

"so what?"

"He wanted me to take on the role of Minister of Equal Opportunities."

"What exactly does this department do?"

"The primary responsibility is to promote social equity, eliminate discrimination, and safeguard the equal rights of different groups in employment and education."

To be honest, it's quite an important institution.

Upon hearing this, Liu Jin couldn't help but laugh.

"What are the specific functions?"

"Equal rights, anti-discrimination, and promoting the social integration of disadvantaged groups."

"I advise you not to get involved in this position."

"why?"

"I put in a lot of effort but got no credit, and all I got was bad reputation."

"what?"

The coffee was ready then.

Mara poured two cups of coffee and handed one to Liu Jin.

A typical Italian espresso, with an irresistible aroma.

Liu Jin took a deep breath and exclaimed, "Great coffee!"

"It's because your coffee beans are so good. I rarely see such good coffee. Where are the coffee beans from?"

"Martinique, also known as Blue Mountain coffee, the top-grade Blue Mountain coffee... My friend owns a coffee bean plantation in Martinique. If you like, there's a can of unopened coffee under the cabinet that you can take home."

"Wow, such good coffee beans, and you're just leaving them like this?"

Mara bent down and took out the coffee can. It was empty. Seeing this, Liu Jin was furious.

Why is it said that he is only known for his bad reputation?

"The original intention of women's rights was to achieve equality for women, not to kill men. But the so-called equality in society today is to elevate women to an unlimited level and condone their various unreasonable behaviors. If you promote this kind of thing, you will offend a large number of men... Italy is ultimately a male-dominated political environment."

Secondly, anti-discrimination.

Can you go against it?
America shouts against discrimination every day, but it still exists.

Racial discrimination is even more severe in Italy, having permeated all aspects of Italian society. If you try to make a fuss about this, you'll likely get yourself into serious trouble.

Furthermore, how do we show inclusiveness towards vulnerable groups?

"Hmm, I think I should start by reducing the number of prostitutes on the streets."

Sure enough, she chose the easiest way to get herself into trouble.

In the original timeline, she introduced a regulation aimed at cracking down on street prostitution.

According to the regulations, both the prostitute and the client will be punished, and if the prostitute is between 16 and 18 years old, the client will be severely punished.

If pimps force women to participate in prostitution, they will also be severely punished.

Mara's intentions were absolutely good.

She did this to reduce the number of prostitutes coming from Eastern Europe and Africa.

In Europe, most prostitutes come from Eastern Europe and are controlled by criminal gangs.

This regulation was ultimately approved by the cabinet and then passed by parliament.

But then, the counterattack came.

Carla Corso, founder of the J Women's Rights Committee, launched a fierce attack on Mara.

He said Mara's regulations were shocking, and said, "She should think about how she climbed to where she is today by exposing her body on the calendar! You (referring to members of parliament) should go online and see what she looks like."

Parliament ultimately failed to pass the regulation.

Mara's reputation was tarnished as a result, with Italian media calling her "the world's most beautiful female minister" to question her abilities. Furthermore, Western media referred to her as a "former showgirl," deliberately ignoring her official duties.

After that, Mara was surrounded by various scandals.

Her relationship with Berlusconi... Berlusconi definitely didn't have good intentions.

And then there was the scandal with Bochino...

Anyway, it's all a mess, and it's hard to tell what's true and what's false.

Old Bei had no good intentions.

This damn Minister of Equal Opportunity is, to put it bluntly, a position with very little power, a ton of damn responsibilities, and an extreme risk of offending people.

If a man were sitting in this seat, it wouldn't matter.

But if it's a woman...

“Mara, I guarantee that if you make this suggestion, the first to attack you will be those you want to protect.”

"why?"

Do you know how many Eastern European women want to come to Southern and Western Europe?
Yes, they have no choice, but it's the easiest path for them. If you strengthen management in this area, those women will fight you to the death. Besides, there are relevant organizations in Italy; if suggestions are to be made, it should be those organizations…”

"The J Women's Rights Committee was founded by Carla Corso."

But I know she has Mafia connections, and she also has financial dealings with those criminal gangs.

"Therefore, she will definitely cause you trouble."

She's a brothel madam, just wearing a legal facade. On the surface, she's a champion of women's rights, but in reality, she's making a fortune off those poor women. The moment you suggest having sex, it will threaten her interests… and she'll attack you relentlessly, using your past as leverage.

Mara, you are beautiful.

Beautiful women are naturally more likely to be criticized.

At the same time, you have no political foundation, and once you touch the interests of certain people, even Silvio cannot protect you.

Then, you'll be burdened with the reputation of a nude model, making it extremely difficult to climb higher in your career.

You may even have to pay all sorts of prices, and are you ready to pay those prices now?
You think you're doing this for the good of underage and young girls.

But the problem is that Europe, Italy… and countries like France and Great Britain have a natural affinity for young girls. Those old-timers in politics, the older they get, the more they like them. Will they take your suggestion?

Mara fell silent!
She took a sip of coffee, looked at Liu Jin, and said, "Amos, should I decline this position?"

"You could switch to a position with less work and less real power, but one where you can gain a lot of experience or a chance to shine. For example, the Minister of Youth Affairs could earn you a lot of support from young people."

Mara, you are the same age as me, or even a few months younger.

Do you think those old guys will willingly let you touch the power in their hands? You have to wait, wait until those old guys are gone... then you need to win over some young people, make them your supporters, and make them your foundation.

There's an old Chinese saying: Build high walls, store up plenty of grain, and delay declaring yourself king!

Think about it, isn't that the truth?

Mara fell into deep thought.

The position that Liu Jin suggested to her was the one that Giorgia Meloni would hold as the future Italian Prime Minister.

After his election, Berlusconi needs to bring in some new blood to compete with the old guard.

Giorgia Meloni's 'Youth Front' is one of Berlusconi's choices.

After becoming Minister of Youth Affairs, Meloni frequently interacted with young people in politics, recruiting enough talent for the youth front and laying a solid foundation for her to become Prime Minister of Italy sixteen years later.

However, Mara has much bigger problems than Meloni.

Having Old Bei's support certainly makes it easier for her to do many things, but it also arouses the resentment of many people.

She has no connections!
Even though she was elected as a member of parliament for the Campania region this time, the same problem still exists.

What she needs to do now is not to gain real power, but to accumulate experience... to appear in public more often and interact more with young people.

She's so beautiful, it's easy for her to gain the support of young people, and then slowly, slowly, she climbs up the ladder!

Liu Jin looked at Mara, who was deep in thought, smiled, and said nothing more.

How to do?
It depends on her decision!

In the original timeline, she rose to the position of Deputy Prime Minister as a non-partisan individual, demonstrating that Mara was definitely not the kind of woman who was all looks and no brains.

She can definitely see the problem here.

As for whether Meloni can still sit on the prime minister's seat after losing his position as minister of youth affairs?

God knows!
Liu Jin doesn't even know her, so why should he bother with her?

……

(End of this chapter)