Clinton's 'old habit', 'arrogant' Sarkozy: Sonia's candid accounts of world leaders

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.