French President Nicolas Sarkozy's father describes his hardships as a penniless refugee in wartime France and pride in his son during a rare interview posted on a WebTV site.
Pal Sarkozy, an 80-year-old painter who lives outside Paris, also said he hoped the global economic crisis would soon be over to allow his son to show his "true values" during less challenging times.
"He is an exceptional man," Sarkozy senior said in the interview to Omega.tv that was to be broadcast on a mainstream television channel yesterday evening.
"He is a great politician, an extraordinary communicator, a man who can win over a hostile crowd... a very intelligent boy who is making good decisions for France and for Europe."
Born to an aristocratic family, Pal Sarkozy de Nagy-Bocsa fled Hungary during World War II and arrived penniless in France.
"I didn't have any shoes and I spent my first night sleeping outside, near a Paris metro entrance," he recounted.
Sarkozy's election to the presidency in 2007 was "a great moment," he said. "I arrived here as a refugee, I started out in the streets and he is Hungarian after all.
"This was an achievement in the Sarkozy's family success in France."
Noting that he too had lost money during the downturn, Sarkozy senior accused the media of fear-mongering and lamented that politicians were unable to be reassuring in such a climate.
"Nicolas inherited coffers that were almost empty," he said. "He has been unlucky because the crisis erupted just a few months after he became president."
"I hope with all my heart that the crisis will be over as quickly as possible and that the last two years of this presidency will be much calmer so that we can appreciate his true values."
While the French leader has said that his father walked out on his mother when he was a young boy, Sarkozy senior denied that he had been estranged from his son.
"I had a divorce, I never abandoned my family," said Pal Sarkozy. "I took care of the children during school holidays, I saw them three times a week."
In an apparent jibe at his son, he added: "I have had several divorces just as my children also have had several divorces."
Sarkozy married supermodel-turned-singer Carla Bruni last year, his third marriage.
Sarkozy's mother Andree and Pal Sarkozy had three sons: Guillaume, Nicolas and Francois.
日前，法国总统尼古拉?萨科奇的父亲接受采访的少见视频出现在一个网络电视网站上。萨科奇的父亲在采访中讲述了二战时期自己在法国沦为身无分文的难民的苦难经历以及表达了以儿子为傲的情感。
萨科奇的父亲帕尔?萨科奇今年80岁，是一名画家，目前生活在巴黎郊区。他在采访中说他希望全球经济危机能尽快过去，这样他的儿子就能在不那么艰难的时局下展示出他“真正的价值”。
老萨科奇在接受Omega.tv网站的采访时说：“他是一个优秀的男人。”该访谈节目于昨晚在法国一个主流电视频道播出。
“他是一个杰出的政治家、优秀的交流者、能战胜敌人的人……以及正为法国和欧洲做出正确决定的十分聪明的孩子。”
帕尔?萨科奇出生于匈牙利的一个贵族家庭，二战期间，他逃离匈牙利，前往法国，到达法国时已身无分文。
他回忆说：“我没有鞋穿，到达法国后的第一个晚上露宿街头，是在巴黎一个地铁口附近过的夜。”
他说，萨科奇于2007年当选法国总统是一个“伟大的时刻”，“我刚来法国时是一个难民，还曾露宿街头，从根上说他是匈牙利人。”
“这是萨科奇家族在法国取得的伟大成就。”
老萨科奇称自己在经济衰退时期也损失了钱财，他还指责媒体散布恐慌情绪，并感叹政治家们在这种大气候下无法安生。
他说：“尼古拉几乎没（从前任总统那）得到什么遗产。他很不走运，因为他刚上任几个月，经济危机就爆发了。”
“我衷心地希望经济危机能尽快结束，能让他最后两年的总统任期平静一点，以让我们看到他真正的价值。”
萨科奇总统曾说在他小时候，他的父亲就抛弃了他的母亲，不过老萨科奇否认了自己与儿子不和一说。
他说：“我离过婚，但我从未抛弃家人。孩子们放假时，我会照顾他们，并且每周去看望他们三次。”
带着一点嘲笑儿子的意味，老萨科奇说：“我离过几次婚，我的孩子和我一样。”
萨科奇总统于去年与名模兼歌手卡拉?布吕尼结婚，这是他的第三次婚姻。
萨科奇的母亲安德烈及其父亲帕尔?萨科奇育有三子，分别是：纪尧姆、尼古拉和弗朗西斯。
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