Seeing another side of Sarkozy

Who better to tell the world about the real character of the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, than his father, Pal?

The two of them have "excellent relations" according to the 81-year-old, and Sarkozy's success in the presidential election back in 2007 was "the pinnacle of the family's success in France."

And that in spite of the fact that the two men have not always been close, as Sarkozy Senior (henceforth to be referred to by his first name) walked out on his wife and three sons when the now president was just four years old.

But in an interview this week with Omega TV, a French online TV site with video interviews and the goal of helping its viewers to "live better", Pal says that in spite of some minor hiccoughs along the way, he and his son have always maintained a good relationship.

"I divorced (his mother) but I never abandoned my family," he said.

"I saw my sons during the holidays and two or three times a week (as they were growing up)", he continued.

Admittedly the interview with Pal might not provide the most balanced and objective of perspectives.

But given that the two men have not always enjoyed the easiest of relationships, the background and character of Pal perhaps shines some light on the personality of the French president.

In her 2007 unofficial biography of Sarkozy "Un pouvoir nommé désir" the French journalist, Catherine Nay, quoted the French president as admitting "that being abandoned by his father shaped much of who he is today and that as a young boy and teenager, he felt inferior in relation to his wealthier classmates."

For Pal though, that's all water under the bridge and there is now mutual respect between the two men.

"And I've been on two or three official trips with Nicolas to Hungary when he was a minister," he insisted.

"That shows just how 'bad' our relationship has been."

Pál Sárközy de Nagy-Bócsa, to give him his full name, was born in 1928 in the Hungarian capital Budapest, and fled with the rest of his family after the war when the Russians moved in

After signing up for the French foreign legion and sent for training in Algeria, he avoided being sent to Indochine and instead was given a medical discharge and returned to civilian life in the southern French city of Marseille.

In 1949 he met and married Andrée Mallah (Sarkozy's mother, affectionately nicknamed Dadu here in France). The couple settled in Paris and had three sons, Guillame, Nicolas and François, before Pal left in 1959 and later remarried three times, having two more children.

The octogenarian now paints and last June held an exhibition of his work in the Spanish capital Madrid.

And on his son's handling of the French economy and his role as president, Pal also thinks his son is doing an excellent of job of coping with the financial crisis that has hit not just France, but the rest of the world.

"He inherited empty coffers when he came to power, and on top of that he had the bad luck that the financial crisis hit several months after his election," he said.

All I can hope is that the last couple of years (of his current term in office) will be calmer, and then once the crisis is past us we'll be able to appreciate his true values."

The full interview (in French) can be seen and heard here.