Post date: Jan 29, 2012 9:35:24 PM
PARIS, FRANCE (JANUARY 29, 2011) (TF1) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Sunday (January 29) gave the strongest signal to date that he intended to seek re-election for a second five-year term at the end of a prime-time television interview that ran on four major channels.
French President Sarkozy gives the strongest message to date that he intends to seek re-election in presidential polls due be be held this April.
Sarkozy, who is trailing Socialist Francois Hollande in the polls, side-stepped presenters' questions for much of the 80-minute interview he gave.But towards the end, he said his job for the time being was to govern France, not to worry about re-election.
"I have the responsibility of a country for five years. I cannot put this country in the situation of having a President who is candidate for neverending months and I am not the only one. The issue came up for all my predecessors who with wisdom took the same decision -- when one is head of a country, one has duties, one takes on one's duties," Sarkozy said.
"For the rest, I have an appointment with the French, I will not shy away, and honestly it's approaching. In any case, there is a deadline is what I came to understand, you can whisper it to me -- it's the 16th of March," he said.
Opinion polls currently forecast that Hollande will win the presidency by a comfortable margin to become the first Socialist president in 17 years.