IMF chief hints he still has sights on Élysée

IMF CHIEF Dominique Strauss-Kahn last night hinted that he plans to return to France to challenge Nicolas Sarkozy for the presidency, but carefully avoided an outright declaration.

In a prime-time television interview on France 2, Mr Strauss-Kahn kept the French political class guessing about his presidential ambitions by declining to say whether he would seek the Socialist Party’s nomination later this year. His performance gave a different impression, however.

While his post as managing director of the IMF precludes him from speaking on domestic politics, Mr Strauss-Kahn rejected the interviewer’s claim that his work in Washington left him at a remove from French people’s concerns and stressed the IMF’s work on behalf of “the man on the street”. “I’m doing what I believe is useful to resolve people’s problems,” he said.

While insisting that he was fully focused on his work in Washington, his comments were clearly designed to speak to the French public. He spoke of the “social suffering” across Europe, and of the problems of “inequality and unemployment” that afflicted countries such as Tunisia and Egypt.

He took issue with a claim that the IMF stood for the “liberal economic orthodoxy” by pointing to its previous advice that states should stimulate their economies through spending.

Speculation about Mr Strauss-Kahn's future grew last week when his wife, Anne Sinclair, told the weekly news magazine Le Pointthat she did not want him to seek a second term at the IMF in Washington. Asked last night if he listened to his wife's views, Mr Strauss-Kahn replied: "Always. What she says is very important for me . . . Whatever I do, her view will count."

In Paris for a meeting of G20 finance ministers, Mr Strauss-Kahn used a series of media appearances to keep alive the suspense over his plans.

According to leaks from an interview due to run in this morning's Le Parisien, Mr Strauss-Kahn said: "I miss France, just like every other expatriate."

On Saturday night, Mr Strauss-Kahn declined to answer directly a question about the French presidency. “Today I head the IMF and that task occupies me full-time – even more than full-time,” he said. “I’m thinking of nothing else.”

Ms Sinclair’s recent intervention coincided with a decline in her husband’s popularity ratings, which by last November had pushed him into first place in rankings of France’s most-liked politicians. An Ipsos poll on February 14th showed his support fell by seven percentage points in a month to 51 per cent.

Mr Strauss-Kahn, whose IMF term is scheduled to end in October 2012, must declare his plans by July, the deadline set by the Socialist Party for nominations for its presidential primary. In 2006, he lost the nomination to Ségolène Royal, who has declared she will contest this year’s primary.

Polls suggest Mr Strauss-Kahn is the socialist best placed to wrest control of the Élysée Palace from the right in next year’s election. A survey by CSA in January found 64 per cent would vote for him in a head-to-head with Mr Sarkozy.