Since when was attaining the rank of ambassador and being appointed to the Vatican ‘low aspirations’?

Even the lowliest ambassador enjoys some authority, and much higher formal rank, than pretty much every non-unicorn startup founder.

In the days of Franz Joseph Karl, Habsburgs didn't get ambassadorial appointments; they gave them.

Ambassador to a country with no currency or trade or airport. In the US it’s a meme that political donors get to be ambassador to one of the easy countries. Doesn’t get much easier than the Vatican.

> a country with no currency or trade or airport

though more involvement in international affairs than a lot of countries with all of the above

Involvement? They pledge their zero troops and threaten to withhold their zero dollars of trade? Maybe restrict movement over their zero square miles of air space? Is it early modern period day on HN what is going on????