Sex Assault Charge Shocks France's Socialists
IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s arrest for sexual assault pretty much puts an end to his candidacy for 2012, and possibly to his career as a politician.
When Nicolas Sarkozy appointed Strauss-Kahn as the French candidate for IMF directorship, he wasn't doing him any favors. Sarkozy knew that Strauss-Kahn would have to come back to France some time before the end of his term in order to run in the 2012 presidential election, which in turn would complicate the Socialist party's choice of a candidate. In addition, it wouldn't look very good on the part of Strauss-Kahn to quit his post in order to return to run for political office. And in fact, the position wouldn’t help him with the French left which doesn't like the IMF, an institution they see as the embodiment of the free-market.
Nevertheless, Strauss-Kahn was performing well in the polls. It may not have meant much a year before an election, but he had a good chance to run well. There were issues: a few weeks ago, he was spotted getting out of an expensive Porsche, which in itself isn't damaging but is a problem for a politician who was asking Greece to lower their wages while pushing for the opposite policy in France. All that was expected by Sarkozy who knew that the IMF position would complicate any Strauss-Kahn political run.
Some people speculate that the alleged sexual assault incident was planned by Strauss-Kahn's opponents, but information is scarce and quite frankly, it doesn't make much of a difference. That's because Strauss-Kahn has been linked to scandalous behavior before. Less than 24 hours after Strauss-Kahn was shamefully arrested trying to flee the U.S., stories are emerging that were ignored or under-reported earlier. Strauss-Kahn has been known for years to have a problem with women and it is quite possible that he has behaved criminally: A journalist claimed in 2007 that Strauss-Kahn tried to rape her.
The French media though tends to look the other way in those sorts of cases. French political culture has a reputation for being relatively blind to politicians' private lives. Many French politicians cheat on their spouses without anyone taking any interest in the story. Whether this is the right way to deal with such matters is open to debate.
Even if the story involving a hotel chambermaid is a conspiracy, which it doesn't look like, that probably wouldn't save Strauss-Kahn. His past is coming to the surface and his reputation is irremediably hurt now. He's history. If it is a conspiracy, it’s a very good one: the kind that damages the target even if discovered.
That leaves Sarkozy with much less dangerous Socialist opponents: Martine Aubry, the daughter of Jacques Delors, ex-president of the European commission, secretary general of the party, and the politician who originated the 35 hour week; François Hollande, another socialist apparatchik with no particular charisma, and Ségolène Royal who lost to Sarkozy before and lacks credibility. None of them looks very frightening for Sarkozy.
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