Clinton’s ‘old habit’, ‘arrogant’ Sarkozy & ‘real star’ Diana: Sonia’s candid accounts of world leaders | India News

Sonia recounts moments with world leaders in her memoir

NEW DELHI: Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi recalls in her memoir how then-US president Bill Clinton, during his 2000 India visit, would occasionally be seen “surreptitiously sizing up the more striking women” at a reception hosted in his honour. The Monica Lewinsky scandal may have faded from the headlines by then, but, as Sonia writes, “old habits die hard”.The anecdote is among several candid recollections of Sonia’s interactions with global leaders and prominent personalities, including former French president Nicolas Sarkozy and the late Princess Diana, in her newly released memoir, Belonging: A Journey Of Love.Recalling Clinton’s 2000 visit, Sonia writes about meeting the then US president at the Sheraton hotel, where he was staying with his daughter Chelsea and his delegation. She had called on him along with then-foreign minister.“Friendly, informal, and exuding confidence, he appeared more keen to give us his own views and predictions about Kashmir- ‘a nuclear flashpoint’, in his words, ‘one of the most dangerous places on earth’–than to pay attention to our point of view,” she writes.Sonia also recounts a reception hosted by then-prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Clinton’s honour, where she noticed the former US president occasionally looking at women in attendance.“The Monica Lewinsky scandal had subsided a little by then, but old habits die hard; at the reception held by Prime Minister Vajpayee in his honour, I noticed him every now and then surreptitiously sizing up the more striking women present,” she writes.

Sarkozy’s love life and an amused Sonia

Sonia also shares an interesting account of Nicolas Sarkozy’s 2008 visit to India, when the French president travelled without his then partner, Carla Bruni.“It was said that he (Sarkozy) had been advised not to bring her (Bruni) because they were unmarried which would have been awkward at official functions,” she writes.At a banquet, the wife of then vice-president Mohammad Ansari, seated next to Sarkozy, began asking him about his relationship with Bruni, including whether he planned to marry her and whether a date had been fixed.“President Sarkozy seemed unperturbed by the cross-examination, even eager to share details of his love life, answering all her questions while continuously messaging his Carla on his phone,” Sonia recalls.The couple made a joint appearance in India on a subsequent visit, attending a private dinner hosted by then prime minister Manmohan Singh and his wife.By then, Sarkozy and Bruni had married. Sonia remembers the French president as being visibly besotted with his wife, who had been a popular singer and songwriter in Europe as well as a top model.“All eyes were on her as she glided into the room in an elegant long gown, graceful and slim, demure and blue-eyed,” she writes.However, Sonia’s impression of the evening was not limited to Bruni’s appearance. She also recalls Sarkozy holding forth on India’s responsibilities while speaking to Manmohan Singh.“He was obviously besotted with his tall and beautiful wife of Italian and French descent, who had been a popular singer and songwriter in Europe, as well as a top model. All eyes were on her as she glided into the room in an elegant long gown, graceful and slim, demure and blue-eyed,” she writes.“She spoke cordially but infrequently–while her husband held forth, expounding his views to our prime minister on what India should do in what I felt was a rather arrogant manner, unmindful of the fact that he was talking to someone more senior, more experienced and more knowledgeable,” she adds.

Sonia’s memories of Princess Diana

Among the most personal recollections in the memoir are Sonia’s encounters with the British royal family, particularly Princess Diana.She writes that members of the British royal family had shared a friendship with the Nehru-Gandhi family over generations, while Rajiv Gandhi had got along well with Prince Charles.“The real star of that family had of course been Princess Diana: Tall and slim, with large blue eyes, an enchanting smile, and a magnetic personality. I can never forget how ravishing she was as a bride when Rajiv and I attended their wedding in 1981. But when they came to India in 1992, it was evident that things were not going well in the marriage,” Sonia writes.She recalls an informal meeting with the royal couple during their 1992 India visit, on the same day Diana famously posed alone on a bench in front of the Taj Mahal, later popularly known as the ‘love bench’.“On the very day she famously posed alone on what I call the ‘love bench’ in front of the Taj Mahal, they had come over for a late tea. Prince Charles was forthcoming and amusing, but she appeared morose, though looking wonderful in a striking red and purple two-piece suit. We chatted about what she had seen and liked on her visit,” she writes.Sonia’s mother, who was visiting at the time, was keen to meet the princess. Her daughter Priyanka was equally eager to introduce her ‘Nonna’ (grandmother) to Diana.When Diana wondered why Sonia’s mother was so quiet, Priyanka immediately explained that she had been told not to speak because she only knew Italian.“Diana burst out laughing and turned immediately to my mother, holding out her hand, “Piacere, comne stai?” (“Pleased to meet you, how are you?”), trying to pronounce the words in the correct Italian accent, though using the informal form of address, but with such warmth and charm that we all melted,” Sonia recalls.The meeting ended on another warm note. As the royal couple were leaving, Diana stopped midway, turned around and waved to Sonia’s mother.“After tea and more chat, we were seeing them off to their car when she stopped halfway, turned back to wave to my mother, and called out, ‘Ciao. Nonna!’ After I presented the royal couple with my book Rajiv, she wrote to me, telling me how much she had admired my husband,” Sonia writes.

‘I am feeling like a crow’: An awkward note at the hairdresser’s

Sonia also recounts a later meeting with Diana in London, when she was invited for tea with the royal couple. She remembers arriving in a black suit with a white collar and joking, “I am feeling like a crow!”On another occasion, she unexpectedly came across Diana at a hairdresser’s. Recognising the princess sitting next to her, Sonia decided to pass her a discreet note.“I scribbled a word and passed it on to her, and the next second realised that instead of ‘Hi’, I had written ‘Hye’. How I wished I could have snatched back the note! But it was too late; she had already put it into her handbag,” she recalls.