| I recall the furor when the news came out last year that World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz had his girlfriend on the payroll. This tidbit came out in the WSJ but I haven't seen it in any other American newspaper so far. Wonder why? |
Strauss-Kahn was defended by President Nicolas Sarkozy's rightwing UMP party, which put him forward for the prestigious IMF appointment, as well as many of his fellow Socialists, several of whom consider him to be a potential future presidential candidate. "Everyone accepts that he is a good chief of the IMF," said François Hollande, first secretary of the leftwing PS party. Speaking on French radio, the cabinet spokesman, Luc Chatel, stressed Strauss-Kahn's solid handling of the financial crisis. "He has shown throughout that he was on top of things," he said.
Details of the affair, which was first reported at the weekend by the Wall Street Journal, provoked anger and suspicion in France, a country with clear media privacy laws. Many commentators questioned the timing of the leaks, amid a global financial crisis in which the IMF plays a key role.
Others suggested the investigation, which was reportedly ordered by the head of the IMF's 24-member board with help from the US and Russia, was leaked deliberately to "destabilise" him. One close ally, Jean-Marie Le Guen, pointed out that his unashamed support of tight market regulation had not been popular with some across the Atlantic.
The IMF said on Saturday it was looking into claims that Strauss-Kahn - or 'DSK' as he is known affectionately in France - was guilty of "improper behaviour" for having a brief affair with a married senior official- a charge he denies. According to the WSJ, part of the investigation will focus on whether Piroska Nagy, who worked in the fund's Africa department, received an excessive payoff when she left her position, six months after the "incident" is said to have taken place. Her lawyer denies this.