SUPPORTERS OF former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn have suggested he could still play a central role in next year’s French presidential elections, after he was freed from house arrest yesterday by a New York court.
Strauss-Kahn’s cash bail bond was returned to him after the judge ruled that certain restrictions on the Frenchman could be eased.
Although charges of rape still stand against him, Strauss-Kahn’s allies in France have taken yesterday’s court decision as a positive sign that the prosecution’s case will be dropped.
Former French government minister Jack Lang said he has urged Strauss-Kahn, 62, to return to France and join the 2012 presidential race, saying: “He could be a good candidate”.
Before the scandal in the US broke, Strauss-Kahn was considered a likely Socialist Party candidate to face Nicolas Sarkozy in next year’s election. The LA Times reports that the Socialist Party’s Jean-Marie Le Guen said yesterday’s ruling was “the end of the nightmare” for the former IMF executive, while Socialist minister Michele Sabban called on his party to delay its primary process if Strauss-Kahn is cleared.
Strauss-Kahn is currently unable to leave the US because authorities are holding his passport, although he is able to leave New York.
- Additional reporting by the AP
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