Private lives, public figures

Nicolas Sarkozy walking out of his interview with 60 Minutes when asked about relations with his then wife Cécilia is creating waves. It is tempting to see the incident as a classic example of the culture clash between the prying Anglo-Saxon media and the Gallic belief in a public figure’s right to privacy. But what it actually illustrates is something more subtle.

If you watch the rest of the interview, you will see how Sarkozy—as is his wont—explains how his politics derive from his personal experience. Inevitably, this sparks and in some ways legitimises public interest in his private life. You see this tension with David Cameron too. It would be absurd to claim that Cameron’s politics have not been changed by his experiences with his son Ivan. But by talking about it, Cameron is to an extent licensing a certain level of interest in his family life.

This is not to criticise Cameron, if politicians are to connect with voters they have to show that they are human too. But then you get into a complex debate about where the line between the private and public lives should be drawn. The absolutes on either side of this debate—that politicians should never talk about their personal experiences or that everything is fair game for the press—clearly don’t work. So we are left trying to navigate some rather grey water.