“I deal above all with those Italians who struggle to do the shopping, they are many, although I have seen that unfortunately there are some ministers who think that the poor eat better than the rich.

“There is no need for parodies when there is a government living on another planet,” Schlein said during her arrival at the PD’s main Festa dell’Unità in Bologna.

Lollobrigida, brother in law of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and grand-nephew of golden era movie star Gina Lollobrigida, made his comments at a symposium calling for “inter-class” diets in Italy.

Lollobrigida said “the less well-off often eat better because they buy better quality produce directly from producers”.

The left-wing populist 5-Star Movement (M5S) joined the PD in attacking Lollobrigida for allegedly “insulting the poor” and said “we hope Lollobrigida becomes poor”.

ANSA