Italian Prime Minister had to eat some humble pie in the interest of diplomatic peace on Saturday after "Il Giornale", a daily newspaper owned by Berlusconi's brother, attacked Carla Bruni, the French President's wife, of 'boorishness' because she snubbed the official G8 programme.
'I was very upset and deeply sorry when I was told about the articles published in the Italian dailies, including Il Giornale, containing offensive remarks about Mme Carla Bruni, wife of the president of the French republic,' Mr Berlusconi said in a statement.
'Someone tell the first lady that snobbery to the nth degree where we come from is called boorishness,' his paper had said.
Carla Bruni, who is of course Italian, has a conflicting relationship with Italy as she opted to live in Paris and has often been critical of the Italian government and Berlusconi in particular. The Italian right wing and its press has been extremely sensitive to avoid any impression that leaders' wives were avoiding contact with Berlucsoni given the rather unsavoury revelations regarding the way he treats and considers women.
