"Unnatural" Bruni elicits mixed reactions in Spain (News Feature)

By Sinikka Tarvainen Apr 28, 2009, 9:48 GMT

Madrid - What did she wear? Who designed her bags and jewellery? How many centimetres did her heels measure? How did she greet the Spanish king, and display affection towards her husband?

Spanish media on Tuesday did not ignore any detail concerning Carla Bruni, the wife of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, during the couple's two-day state visit to Spain that was ending Tuesday.

The glamour of the Italian-born singer and former top model gave Spaniards a welcome break from unemployment, terrorism and other problems - the issues that Sarkozy actually came to Spain to discuss.

But not everyone was happy.

'Bruni lives on a permanent catwalk,' the daily El Pais said, describing the French first lady as 'elegant but not really natural.'

'I cannot help feeling a profound rage when seeing' that after decades of fight for women to recognized as intellectually and professionally capable beings, 'we remain... mere decorative objects on the side of the superman,' novelist Angeles Caso wrote on the eve of Bruni's visit.

Talks between Sarkozy and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero were scheduled to last only a few hours, while an entire day was reserved for official ceremonies and cultural activities allowing cameras to dwell on Bruni's demure smile, holding hands with her husband or her Parisian chic.

Sarkozy, who is facing strikes and other problems at home, made the most of his wife's publicity value, 'allowing her to flirt with the cameras as much as necessary,' as El Pais put it.

Critics did not question Bruni's singing talents, but in her role as Sarkozy's consort, her former profession as a model came to the fore, giving her a certain celluloid quality in comparison with the Spanish royals or Zapatero's wife, commentators said.

It occurred to hardly anybody to compare 'design queen' Bruni with Queen Sofia, who has been on the throne for 34 years.

But the press 'invented' a 'totally nonexistent' duel of elegance between 41-year-old Bruni and Crown Princess Letizia, 36, the daily El Mundo complained.

'Bruni has made a living from being pretty,' while former news anchor Letizia was 'on a different level,' a woman named Patricia wrote on an internet forum.

Most participants, however, loved the fashion spectacle, commenting on the two women's styles and siding with the one or the other.

The French presidential couple was 'an icon reflecting some of the most electrifying passions of our time: will to power, ambition, determination, sense of spectacle and a frank acceptance of risk,' the daily La Vanguardia wrote on the eve of the visit.

The Spanish royal palace did put some limits on Bruni's stardom, reportedly refusing to break the protocol to grant her a private meeting with Letizia that she had requested.

Bruni was scheduled to spend time alone only with Zapatero's wife Sonsoles Espinosa, 48, a discreet figure who has fiercely protected her private life.