Greta Thunberg's father answers 'no' when asked if he's proud of her

Greta Thunberg's father was asked how proud he is of his daughter and his response was kind of confusing.

Talking on the BBC's Today Programme, Svante Thunberg said he's "not at all proud" of his activist daughter and that he doesn't care about pride.

When pushed to talk about her achievements, Thunberg's father instead turned the conversation to himself.

I'm proud that I've contributed just a tiny bit. Because I listen. My wife and I decided to listen to her. I'm pleased about the fact we chose to listen.

Svante Thunberg also said that he and his wife told their daughter that they weren't supportive of her putting herself at the "front line" of climate change activism because of the hate she would receive.

Greta Thunberg guest edited the Today Programme on which her father appeared. She also met Sir David Attenborough for the first time over Skype who told her he's grateful she's achieved what many have failed to in twenty years.

Speaking to Mishal Husain, Svante Thunberg went on to reveal the extent of his daughter's depression before she began her climate protests.

Three or four years before she went on the school strikes she fell ill. She stopped talking, she stopped eating and all these things. She stopped going to school. She was basically home for a year.

Dedicating herself to her activism was how she found happiness, he explains, as well as being able to talk to other people and eat again after nearly three months.

You think she's not ordinary now because she's special and she's very famous and all these things. But to me she's now an ordinary child. She can do all the things other people can and she's happy.

Whilst Svante Thunberg's comments about pride will strike many parents as odd, it's obvious he's now supportive of his daughter and the enormous impact she's had on the global climate conversation.

Although he hopes that their lives will become "less intense" in future, Svante Thunberg has promised Greta that he'll accompany her on her trips around the world whenever she needs.

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