By STEVEN ERLANGER and KATRIN BENNHOLD
Published: May 17, 2011
PARIS — With its presumptive presidential candidate in a New York jail awaiting resolution of sexual assault charges, including attempted rape, the Socialist Party moved on Tuesday to try to reassure its troops, while President Nicolas Sarkozy was reported to have told his party’s legislators that the arrest of Dominique Strauss-Kahn was a disaster for the Socialists, who had lost “the moral part of the battle for the presidency.”
Benoit Tessier/Reuters
THE SOCIALIST LEADER Martine Aubry, Tuesday in Paris, told party leaders they must pull together.
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Readers shared their thoughts on this article.
France’s political world began maneuvering in earnest on Tuesday.
Martine Aubry, the Socialist leader, told her party leadership on Tuesday that it must pull together, look beyond the trauma of the scandal and focus on the presidency.
“Unity, responsibility, combativeness — these are the three words which came up the most this morning,” Ms. Aubry said afterward. “There was emotion, of course, and the shock we all feel, but it is our responsibility to be up to the task.”
It is necessary to “wait for the facts” and Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s version of events in a Manhattan hotel suite, she said, but also to “respect the young woman” who accused him of attempted rape and other sexual charges.
Her comments captured the Socialist dilemma: their most prominent candidate and hope of winning the presidency is suddenly out of the race, accused of maltreating an immigrant working-class woman and tarnished by perceptions of a lavish lifestyle.
The party struggled to set itself apart. “It’s not the Socialist Party that’s in the dock,” said the party’s spokesman, Benoît Hamon. But a number of commentators noted that the accusations against Mr. Strauss-Kahn pointed not only to elitism in the Socialist Party — the “caviar left” — but also to what they termed clubby corruption and even immorality.
When added to widespread criticism of Mr. Sarkozy for enjoying luxury and rich friends from business and the entertainment industry too much, there is a growing sense that the elite of both parties have been sullied, which may help the angry critique of French politics personified by the far-right candidate of the National Front, Marine Le Pen.
The deep unpopularity of Mr. Sarkozy — he had barely a 30 percent approval rating before these events — has not resulted in a surge of popularity for the Socialists, but rather a rise in the polls for Ms. Le Pen and her party. Even before Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s arrest, she was already seen as a real possibility to beat one of the other main parties into third place and make the presidential second-round runoff a year from now.
Ms. Le Pen is trying to move the party more into the mainstream, de-emphasizing racism and anti-Semitism — banning the Nazi salute at meetings, for example — and concentrating on more populist issues like unemployment, immigration, globalization and a loss of sovereignty to the European Union and the euro.
Ms. Le Pen has also been the most critical of Mr. Strauss-Kahn and, in a way, the most openly feminist. “I am utterly unsurprised,” she said on Sunday, as news of the arrest broke in France. “He must be presumed innocent — but everyone in the Paris political village knew of Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s pathological relations with women.”
Frédéric Sawicki, a political scientist at the Sorbonne, said the embarrassment of the Socialists and the caution of Mr. Sarkozy’s party “leaves a large space for Marine Le Pen to dress herself as the defender of women against macho men.”
A generalized disgust and disappointment with traditional political leaders will only grow with the arrest of Mr. Strauss-Kahn, analysts said. “The only thing that looks clear today is that the extreme right, anti-elite movement, those who are always emphasizing how corrupt the elites are, will benefit from this,” said Dominique Moïsi, a senior fellow at the French Institute of International Relations. “Now they can say the elites are not only corrupt; they are also depraved.”
As a woman, Ms. Le Pen is better placed to exploit the scandal, Mr. Moïsi said. “There is clearly within France a gender divide on this affair: French women say, ‘Let the American justice system do its work,’ while the men say, ‘How can they parade them in handcuffs like that?’ ”
Mr. Sawicki said the events had upended everyone’s political calculus, especially among the Socialists, where Mr. Strauss-Kahn, a centrist with an international reputation, was less popular among the left of his own party but better able to pick up votes from the center and even from disaffected Sarkozy supporters on the center right.
The main beneficiary among the Socialists is François Hollande, 56, a former party leader who is a member of Parliament and president of the political region called Corrèze. Mr. Hollande was the longtime partner of the last Socialist nominee, Ségolène Royal, with whom he has four children. Ms. Royal lost to Mr. Sarkozy in 2007, but will run again for the Socialist nomination.
Pool photo by Lionel Bonaventure
THE PRESIDENT Nicolas Sarkozy reportedly said the arrest was a disaster for the Socialists.
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Atop I.M.F., Contradiction and Energy (May 18, 2011)
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I.M.F. Chief May Claim Consensual Sex as a Defense(May 18, 2011)
About New York: Hotel Keycard of I.M.F. Chief May Tell a Tale(May 18, 2011)
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Readers' Comments
Readers shared their thoughts on this article.
Mr. Hollande is well liked, if a little dull, competent, centrist and unshowy. He threw his hat into the ring against Mr. Strauss-Kahn early, and he is more popular among voters than Ms. Aubry, who is considered to be on the left wing of the party and probably too doctrinaire to win a national vote.
But he does not do as well in the polls against Mr. Sarkozy as Mr. Strauss-Kahn did, and it is possible that other candidates — from the Greens, the Communists and the center — will divide the center-left vote enough to drive the Socialists into third place in the first round.
But at this point, with opinions among the electorate still up for grabs, Ms. Le Pen or Mr. Sarkozy could run third, too. They are nearly tied for now in opinion polls, given margins of error. Jean-François Kahn, an analyst and former editor of the left-wing magazine Marianne who is not related to Mr. Strauss-Kahn, said, “I am among the rare people who think Sarkozy could be re-elected, because the National Front could get into the second round,” beating the Socialists. Mr. Hollande would be the best Socialist candidate, he said — “a man of the open left, not sectarian.” Mr. Hollande is “rural and urban at the same time,” and “there is no angle of attack against him.”
So there is much to play for, which Mr. Sarkozy told his legislators Tuesday morning, in remarks reported by Le Monde. He gave them the road map for the next year: “hard work, calm, unity and dignity,” he said, repeating the word “dignity.”
He said that 2011 was an important year, in which the economy would continue to recover and grow, he would refuse to raise taxes, continue to preside over the Group of 8 and Group of 20, and help lead the way for a new future for the Arab countries of North Africa.
“The only good thing to do,” said Bruno Le Maire, the minister of agriculture, “is to shut up and do our work.”
PARIS — With its presumptive presidential candidate in a New York jail awaiting resolution of sexual assault charges, including attempted rape, the Socialist Party moved on Tuesday to try to reassure its troops, while President Nicolas Sarkozy was reported to have told his party’s legislators that the arrest of Dominique Strauss-Kahn was a disaster for the Socialists, who had lost “the moral part of the battle for the presidency.”
Benoit Tessier/Reuters
THE SOCIALIST LEADER Martine Aubry, Tuesday in Paris, told party leaders they must pull together.
Related
Atop I.M.F., Contradiction and Energy (May 18, 2011)
At I.M.F., Maneuvering to Replace Jailed Chief (May 18, 2011)
I.M.F. Chief May Claim Consensual Sex as a Defense(May 18, 2011)
About New York: Hotel Keycard of I.M.F. Chief May Tell a Tale(May 18, 2011)
Related in Opinion
Dowd: Powerful and Primitive(May 18, 2011)
Op-Ed Contributor: Droit du Dirty Old Men (May 18, 2011)
Stephane Mahe/Reuters
FAR-RIGHT CHIEF Marine Le Pen, in Tours in January, has criticized Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
Readers' Comments
Readers shared their thoughts on this article.
France’s political world began maneuvering in earnest on Tuesday.
Martine Aubry, the Socialist leader, told her party leadership on Tuesday that it must pull together, look beyond the trauma of the scandal and focus on the presidency.
“Unity, responsibility, combativeness — these are the three words which came up the most this morning,” Ms. Aubry said afterward. “There was emotion, of course, and the shock we all feel, but it is our responsibility to be up to the task.”
It is necessary to “wait for the facts” and Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s version of events in a Manhattan hotel suite, she said, but also to “respect the young woman” who accused him of attempted rape and other sexual charges.
Her comments captured the Socialist dilemma: their most prominent candidate and hope of winning the presidency is suddenly out of the race, accused of maltreating an immigrant working-class woman and tarnished by perceptions of a lavish lifestyle.
The party struggled to set itself apart. “It’s not the Socialist Party that’s in the dock,” said the party’s spokesman, Benoît Hamon. But a number of commentators noted that the accusations against Mr. Strauss-Kahn pointed not only to elitism in the Socialist Party — the “caviar left” — but also to what they termed clubby corruption and even immorality.
When added to widespread criticism of Mr. Sarkozy for enjoying luxury and rich friends from business and the entertainment industry too much, there is a growing sense that the elite of both parties have been sullied, which may help the angry critique of French politics personified by the far-right candidate of the National Front, Marine Le Pen.
The deep unpopularity of Mr. Sarkozy — he had barely a 30 percent approval rating before these events — has not resulted in a surge of popularity for the Socialists, but rather a rise in the polls for Ms. Le Pen and her party. Even before Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s arrest, she was already seen as a real possibility to beat one of the other main parties into third place and make the presidential second-round runoff a year from now.
Ms. Le Pen is trying to move the party more into the mainstream, de-emphasizing racism and anti-Semitism — banning the Nazi salute at meetings, for example — and concentrating on more populist issues like unemployment, immigration, globalization and a loss of sovereignty to the European Union and the euro.
Ms. Le Pen has also been the most critical of Mr. Strauss-Kahn and, in a way, the most openly feminist. “I am utterly unsurprised,” she said on Sunday, as news of the arrest broke in France. “He must be presumed innocent — but everyone in the Paris political village knew of Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s pathological relations with women.”
Frédéric Sawicki, a political scientist at the Sorbonne, said the embarrassment of the Socialists and the caution of Mr. Sarkozy’s party “leaves a large space for Marine Le Pen to dress herself as the defender of women against macho men.”
A generalized disgust and disappointment with traditional political leaders will only grow with the arrest of Mr. Strauss-Kahn, analysts said. “The only thing that looks clear today is that the extreme right, anti-elite movement, those who are always emphasizing how corrupt the elites are, will benefit from this,” said Dominique Moïsi, a senior fellow at the French Institute of International Relations. “Now they can say the elites are not only corrupt; they are also depraved.”
As a woman, Ms. Le Pen is better placed to exploit the scandal, Mr. Moïsi said. “There is clearly within France a gender divide on this affair: French women say, ‘Let the American justice system do its work,’ while the men say, ‘How can they parade them in handcuffs like that?’ ”
Mr. Sawicki said the events had upended everyone’s political calculus, especially among the Socialists, where Mr. Strauss-Kahn, a centrist with an international reputation, was less popular among the left of his own party but better able to pick up votes from the center and even from disaffected Sarkozy supporters on the center right.
The main beneficiary among the Socialists is François Hollande, 56, a former party leader who is a member of Parliament and president of the political region called Corrèze. Mr. Hollande was the longtime partner of the last Socialist nominee, Ségolène Royal, with whom he has four children. Ms. Royal lost to Mr. Sarkozy in 2007, but will run again for the Socialist nomination.
Pool photo by Lionel Bonaventure
THE PRESIDENT Nicolas Sarkozy reportedly said the arrest was a disaster for the Socialists.
Related
Atop I.M.F., Contradiction and Energy (May 18, 2011)
At I.M.F., Maneuvering to Replace Jailed Chief (May 18, 2011)
I.M.F. Chief May Claim Consensual Sex as a Defense(May 18, 2011)
About New York: Hotel Keycard of I.M.F. Chief May Tell a Tale(May 18, 2011)
Related in Opinion
Dowd: Powerful and Primitive(May 18, 2011)
Op-Ed Contributor: Droit du Dirty Old Men (May 18, 2011)
Readers' Comments
Readers shared their thoughts on this article.
Mr. Hollande is well liked, if a little dull, competent, centrist and unshowy. He threw his hat into the ring against Mr. Strauss-Kahn early, and he is more popular among voters than Ms. Aubry, who is considered to be on the left wing of the party and probably too doctrinaire to win a national vote.
But he does not do as well in the polls against Mr. Sarkozy as Mr. Strauss-Kahn did, and it is possible that other candidates — from the Greens, the Communists and the center — will divide the center-left vote enough to drive the Socialists into third place in the first round.
But at this point, with opinions among the electorate still up for grabs, Ms. Le Pen or Mr. Sarkozy could run third, too. They are nearly tied for now in opinion polls, given margins of error. Jean-François Kahn, an analyst and former editor of the left-wing magazine Marianne who is not related to Mr. Strauss-Kahn, said, “I am among the rare people who think Sarkozy could be re-elected, because the National Front could get into the second round,” beating the Socialists. Mr. Hollande would be the best Socialist candidate, he said — “a man of the open left, not sectarian.” Mr. Hollande is “rural and urban at the same time,” and “there is no angle of attack against him.”
So there is much to play for, which Mr. Sarkozy told his legislators Tuesday morning, in remarks reported by Le Monde. He gave them the road map for the next year: “hard work, calm, unity and dignity,” he said, repeating the word “dignity.”
He said that 2011 was an important year, in which the economy would continue to recover and grow, he would refuse to raise taxes, continue to preside over the Group of 8 and Group of 20, and help lead the way for a new future for the Arab countries of North Africa.
“The only good thing to do,” said Bruno Le Maire, the minister of agriculture, “is to shut up and do our work.”
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