Strauss-Kahn’s possible return to politics splits French Socialists

Party hit by infighting and contest for a presidential candidate overshadowed by whether former IMF chief is likely to join race The possible return of Dominique Strauss-Kahn to the French presidential race has plunged the Socialist party into a fresh round of infighting, overshadowing its internal contest for a candidate. Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the IMF, was the Socialist favourite to beat Nicolas Sarkozy and win the 2012 presidential election before he was arrested in New York over the alleged attempted rape of a hotel maid. His political allies hope that charges against him will be dropped this week after doubts were raised over the hotel worker’s credibility. But rifts are emerging between those who want him to return to Socialist politics and party leadership figures who claim he is unlikely to run for president. The Socialists have been thrown into disarray by a lawsuit from the French journalist Tristane Banon who alleges Strauss-Kahn attempted to rape her during an interview in 2003. Banon and her mother, a Socialist councillor, claim François Hollande, the then Socialist party leader, knew full details of the alleged attack. Hollande styles himself as the squeaky clean “ordinary guy” of French politics and is currently the frontrunner in the internal Socialist race for a presidential candidate. But his campaign has been overshadowed by questions about the Banon case, what he knew and whether he should have acted. He denied any in-depth knowledge of the allegations, saying: “I absolutely want to put an end to all these controversies, rumours and hawking.” Strauss-Kahn’s key ally, the Socialist MP Jean-Marie Le Guen, slammed Banon’s legal complaint as “opportunistic”, adding: “Visibly Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s return doesn’t suit some people.” Another Strauss-Kahn supporter, Pierre Moscovici, deemed the Banon case “mysterious” and likened it to a “soap opera”. Martine Aubry, the former Socialist leader who recently launched a bid to be France’s first female president, is now struggling to emerge from the shadow of the man known as DSK. She insisted she would not now pull out of the race in favour of Strauss-Kahn. She also suggested to journalists that Strauss-Kahn told her by phone he wouldn’t come back to run for Socialist presidential candidate. Benoit Hamon, the party spokesman, said a Strauss-Kahn return to the presidential race was “the weakest” of all probabilities. This infuriated DSK allies who think he still has a chance at the Elysée. The latest poll shows that even if all charges are dropped against Strauss-Kahn, a majority of French people neither want him to stand nor think he will stand. The poll for the weekly Le Nouvel Observateur found that 54% of French people do not want him to run in the Socialist primary race and more than 63% do not think he will run. Even though a majority of Socialist sympathisers would like him to run, most of them think he won’t. The most hostile towards him were women voters – who were never among Strauss-Kahn’s biggest supporters. The Socialist party primary vote takes place in October. Candidates must declare by 13 July, although Strauss-Kahn could get around this deadline if he decides to run. Dominique Strauss-Kahn France Europe Nicolas Sarkozy Angelique Chrisafis guardian.co.uk

Posted by on July 5, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.