The Other Side of Media

I was in a Paris hotel room early Monday morning, getting ready for my flight back to the US.  The TV was tuned, of course, to CNN International and suddenly there he was, Nicolas Sarkozy, the new President of France, sparring with Lesley Stahl in a “60 Minutes” clip. 

Lesley asked him about his wife, Cecilia, who announced divorce proceedings this week.  He objected, gave an abrupt reponse and ended the interview by ripping off his ear piece, slapping Lesley on the shoulder, and walking off the set saying “bon courage” (what’s he trying to do, out-courage Dan Rather??) Lesley’s jaw dropped.  So did mine.  Good PR for “60 Minutes”, not so good for Sarko.

The words he used to respond to the Cecilia question were appropriate “If I had anything to say, I certainly wouldn’t do so here.”  But his angry body language and petulant behavior got him into trouble.  Sarko, no matter how hard the interviewers push, you gotta leave the angry-husband stuff at home, keep your cool, and behave like a President.  That means keeping those emotions under control and making sure your body language doesn’t betray you.

He shouldn’t have been surprised by the questions — the French tabloids were buzzing all week with stories about him and Cecilia.  And if his publicist didn’t warn him about “60 Minutes” tactics, he needs to hire a new one.   We’re clearly going to see a lot more of this pro-American French leader.  We’ll see how he does in interviews in the coming weeks.   Let me know if you catch one.