Lawyers for the International Monetary Fund are pushing for Dominique Strauss-Kahn to clarify his position as he sits in jail facing charges of sexual assault with the IMF's board split on what to do next.
IMF officials have yet to speak to their managing director since his arrest on Sunday for an alleged attack on a chambermaid at a New York hotel, and pressure is mounting on the institution, which plays a critical role in global finance, to appoint a new head. The US treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, and European finance ministers have made it clear they believe he should resign.
Strauss-Kahn, who was denied bail and is considered a flight risk, is being held in Rikers Island prison in New York. According to city officials, the only people with access to the IMF boss are his family and his lawyers.
Sources close to the IMF say its board is split on how to proceed. Strauss-Kahn's deputy, John Lipsky, has stepped in on an interim basis, but both men had been planning to retire shortly even before the scandal broke. The race to succeed Strauss-Kahn has now intensified with candidates from the developing world pushing for senior jobs that have traditionally been dominated by Europeans.
The IMF chief's personal lawyer, William Taylor, Wednesday declined to comment on Strauss-Kahn's future plans, telling AFP: "I think in the end it will be resolved."
The IMF is planning ahead however, with acting chief John Lipsky to attend next week's Group of Eight summit in Strauss-Kahn's place.
The French government's spokesman Francois Baroin told reporters Lipsky would represent the International Monetary Fund at the top-level summit in Deauville, northwestern France, on May 26 and 27.
In France, Strauss-Kahn continues to enjoy some support, including from conspiracy theorists who claim he was set up. A poll said Wednesday that 57 percent of French people believe he is the "victim of a plot."
"France is flummoxed," political scientist Stephane Rozes told AFP. The French have been forced to decide whether there was some kind of behind-the-scenes plot or if their former finance minister is mentally unwell.
"Both ideas are unsettling," Rozes said, adding that, while a conspiracy appeared "incredible," madness would be "shocking.
No comments:
Post a Comment