Socialist presidential hopeful Dominique Strauss-Kahn sues a newspaper over claims about his lifestyle, as critics say his extravagance rules out his leftwing candidature
The rumours of dangerous liaisons and sexual conquests have had little effect on his chances of occupying the highest office in the land. But the presidential ambitions of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, chief of the International Monetary Fund and the man French Socialists hope will be the next occupant of the Elysée Palace, may yet be dented by a new revelation: he likes, allegedly, to wear expensive suits.
Even before he has officially thrown his hat into the election ring – as he is expected to do within weeks – Strauss-Kahn is fighting off a very French furore over assertions his tastes are too luxurious to lay claim to the left.
Now Strauss-Kahn is suing a French newspaper that claimed staples of his lifestyle included luxury homes and sought-after works of art.
In its report, France Soir also said he had worn several handmade suits ordered from US President Barack Obama's tailor in Washington DC, a claim hotly denied. The tailor, a 75-year-old Frenchman from Marseille, sells suits for between £4,300 and £21,000. Last night, calls to Strauss-Kahn's lawyer went unanswered.
While the French are prepared to forgive their leaders' sexual peccadilloes – including lovers and secret families – they are less forgiving of displays of wealth. Nicolas Sarkozy was nicknamed the "bling-bling president" after flashing his Rolex and holidaying on luxury yachts wearing Aviator sunglasses.
Questions over Strauss-Kahn's wealth were raised two weeks ago after he was pictured climbing into a friend's £87,000 Porsche Panamera S outside his £3.5m Paris home alongside his heiress wife.
The fallout from "Porsche-gate" seems to have proved more damaging to his popularity among voters than Strauss-Kahn's reputation as a '"great seducer". For months opinion polls have suggested that he is the only potential opposition candidate who might unseat Sarkozy in next year's election, but after the France Soir reports François Hollande, the former Socialist party leader who is also seeking the party's nomination as presidential candidate, leapt to within a few points of him. Hollande's ex-wife Ségolène Royal, who lost to Sarkozy in 2007, is another Socialist contender to be leader, along with two other hopefuls.
In its report on Thursday, the newspaper said that since Strauss-Kahn and his wealthy wife, Anne Sinclair, a former television presenter, had arrived in the US capital for his IMF job in 2007 they had lived a life of luxury. The couple was said to have bought a £2.5m home in the upmarket Washington district of Georgetown. Other reports revealed that Strauss-Kahn, who allegedly earns £22,000 net a month, also has an apartment in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, which he shares with his wife and which was bought for £2.2m in 1990, another apartment on the expensive Place des Vosges in the 4th arrondissement bought in 2007 for £3.4m, and a riad in Marrakech.
That the Strauss-Kahns are wealthy has never been a secret. Sinclair is the granddaughter of Paul Rosenberg, a celebrated dealer of modern art, and has inherited part of his collection, which is said to include at least one Picasso. In many countries, such wealth would not necessarily be viewed as an impediment to a leftwing politician's career. In France, however, the flashiness has appalled some observers.
"Can one be leftwing and very rich?" asked Jean-Jacques Bourdin, a commentator on French radio station RMC. "If Sarkozy represented for many the 'bling-bling' right then Dominique Strauss-Kahn is, whether he likes it or not, a representative of the left 'vroom vroom'.
"He finds himself today in a very worrying situation for a future socialist presidential candidate. Because in the collective subconscious to be leftwing and to have lots of money… doesn't always go together," said Bourdin.
However, supporters were quick to jump to Strauss-Kahn's defence. Michèle Sabban, vice-president of the Île-de-France socialists, told journalists: "Dominique is staying true to himself. He admits his relationship with money and that's good. Besides, have you ever seen a poor president?"
Another supporter, local councillor Hussein Mokhtari, added: "So he has to eat sandwiches and drive a 2CV when he is head of the IMF and he is representing France?"
Even political enemies such as Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the Left party and a rival presidential candidate, dismissed criticism of his wealth.
"Being leftwing is a conviction, a commitment; never would a man of the left say to another 'profit and shut up …' I think someone who is rich can also be of the left depending on how his wealth was gained."
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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/15/france-dominique-strauss-kahn-lifestyle
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