Glass
21st March 2011, 07:19 PM
WHEN he bounced into office in 2007, Nicolas Sarkozy had a big fling with Muammar Gaddafi. It has, predictably, ended in tears, with the dictator and his family gunning for the French President.
Colonel Gaddafi's son Saif said yesterday Libya had secretly paid for Mr Sarkozy's 2007 campaign and now wants its money back from "this clown".
"Sarkozy must first give back the money that he took from Libya to finance his electoral campaign," Saif al-Islam Gaddafi said.
"We have all the details and are ready to reveal everything. The first thing we want this clown to do is to give the money back to the Libyan people."
The Elysee palace dismissed the Libyan claims as ridiculous.
They were the latest in a stream of Libyan invective against the President since he took the lead last week in calling for military action against the Gaddafi regime. He also enraged Tripoli by making France the only country to recognise the rebel administration in Benghazi as Libya's legitimate government.
he Gaddafi family anger carries a heavy tone of disappointment because Mr Sarkozy began his presidency with overtures to Tripoli's dictator. Six weeks after his election, he invited Colonel Gaddafi on a state visit to Paris as a reward for releasing long-imprisoned Bulgarian nurses.
After Mr Sarkozy staged a G8 foreign ministers' meeting on Libya, Colonel Gaddafi said he had been disappointed in his "good friend", who had "gone mad".
"That is what people say who are close to him. His aides say that he is suffering from a psychological illness," Colonel Gaddafi said.
His son added: "He was given assistance so that he could help them. But he has disappointed us . . . We have all the bank details and documents . . . and we will make everything public soon."
Article.... (http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/tripoli-demands-back-campaign-funding-from-clown-nicolas-sarkozy/story-e6frg6so-1226023475802)
Colonel Gaddafi's son Saif said yesterday Libya had secretly paid for Mr Sarkozy's 2007 campaign and now wants its money back from "this clown".
"Sarkozy must first give back the money that he took from Libya to finance his electoral campaign," Saif al-Islam Gaddafi said.
"We have all the details and are ready to reveal everything. The first thing we want this clown to do is to give the money back to the Libyan people."
The Elysee palace dismissed the Libyan claims as ridiculous.
They were the latest in a stream of Libyan invective against the President since he took the lead last week in calling for military action against the Gaddafi regime. He also enraged Tripoli by making France the only country to recognise the rebel administration in Benghazi as Libya's legitimate government.
he Gaddafi family anger carries a heavy tone of disappointment because Mr Sarkozy began his presidency with overtures to Tripoli's dictator. Six weeks after his election, he invited Colonel Gaddafi on a state visit to Paris as a reward for releasing long-imprisoned Bulgarian nurses.
After Mr Sarkozy staged a G8 foreign ministers' meeting on Libya, Colonel Gaddafi said he had been disappointed in his "good friend", who had "gone mad".
"That is what people say who are close to him. His aides say that he is suffering from a psychological illness," Colonel Gaddafi said.
His son added: "He was given assistance so that he could help them. But he has disappointed us . . . We have all the bank details and documents . . . and we will make everything public soon."
Article.... (http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/tripoli-demands-back-campaign-funding-from-clown-nicolas-sarkozy/story-e6frg6so-1226023475802)