'I'm Tired, Let's Run' Says 'Speedy' Sarkozy

Link : http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=573&ncid=757&e=9&u=/nm/20041004/od_nm/run_dc

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - After a transatlantic flight and two days of non-stop meetings with the world's top moneymen in Washington, French Finance Minister Nicolas Sarkozy took a break -- to go running.



Failing to find any takers for a jog among his entourage, the man dubbed "Speedy" by his fans swapped his suit and tie for shorts and a T-shirt emblazoned with the word "Sarko," another nickname, and trotted off toward the White House in central Washington Saturday with security men in tow.


An hour later he came back to resume the finance meetings.


The 49-year-old, who has made no secret of his ambition to become France's head of state one day, seeks to portray himself as a dynamic, youthful alternative to incumbent President Jacques Chirac, 71.


Chirac has not said whether he will seek a third term in 2007. Sarkozy is widely expected to run and plans to take over as the head of Chirac's ruling party next month -- a job seen as giving him a platform to launch a bid for the presidency.


Sarkozy also used his time in the United States to hone his skills as a statesman by meeting Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) on Friday, and scheduling talks with United Nations (news - web sites) Secretary General Kofi Annan (news - web sites) in New York on Monday.


The meeting with Powell was "extremely cordial," he said.