Carla Bruni under fire for 'snobbery'

"Someone tell the first lady that snobbery ... where we come from is called boorishness," right-wing daily Il Giornale said as the G8 summit was wrapping up in L'Aquila, central Italy.

On Thursday, the other G8 first ladies including Michelle Obama toured the city devastated by an April 6 earthquake, while Bruni planned to visit the disaster zone on Friday. Bruni, who arrived in Italy late on Thursday, also stayed away from the first ladies' audience with Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday.

According to the paper, which is owned by the brother of Silvilo Berlusconi, the Italian premier, Bruni "insinuates that the G8 is a hypocritical display, and that a G1 would be enough, with Carla Bruni as the only guest, the best on the earth since the death of Mother Teresa."

"Of course we should recognise that Carla has always been very attentive to the needs of the disadvantaged... but then if you act like that, even charity stinks," wrote editorialist Federico Novella. "It stinks... of the uncontrollable desire to be the centre of attention."