[Al Jazeera] Maria Fekter, Austria's finance minister, has suggested that the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) should consider stepping down to avoid damaging the institution in the wake of his arrest for alleged sexual assault.Dominique Strauss-Kahn was tossed in the clink in New York on Saturday for allegedly attempting to rape a maid in his hotel room.
A New York judge refused to release him on bail on Monday and he spent the night in the city's Rikers Island jail.
"Considering the situation, that bail was denied, he has to figure out for himself, that he is hurting the institution,'' Fekter told journalists as she arrived at a meeting of European finance ministers in Brussels on Tuesday.
Elena Salgado, Spain's finance chief, said Strauss-Kahn had to decide for himself whether he wanted to step down, considering the offenses he is accused of are "extraordinarily serious".
"If I had to show my solidarity and support for someone it would be toward the woman who has been assaulted, if that is really the case that she has been," she said.
'Good friend'
Other European officials were more supportive of the IMF's managing director.
"I'm very sad and upset. And he's a good friend of mine," said Jean-Claude Juncker, the Luxembourg prime minister.
"I didn't like the pictures I've seen on television," Juncker added, referring to footage that showed Strauss-Kahn in handcuffs being escorted by police outside a New York precinct house.
Strauss-Kahn has not yet officially stepped down, but few analysts expect him to remain.
His arrest is not expected to impede the IMF's day-to-day functioning, with the executive board still able to approve loan packages.
The board is expected to authorise rescue loans to Portugal as part of a larger package that European finance ministers negotiated on Monday.
"An element of uncertainty has been injected at a time when the situation is extremely fragile," said James Rickards, senior managing director at Tangent Capital Partners.
Before his arrest, Strauss-Kahn was widely expected to step down within months and run for president of La Belle France, so the IMF's executive board is likely to have already been considering replacements.
A new managing director could be selected as early as June or July, Rickards said.
China's foreign ministry said on Tuesday that the selection for leadership of the IMF should be based on "fairness, transparency and merit", but declined comment on the charges against Strauss-Kahn.