RSS Feed MenuMany in the French and European elite have expressed surprising sympathy for IMF president Dominique Strauss-Kahn, now under arrest for attempted rape.
They were not nearly so forgiving toward Paul Wolfowitz, when he got into trouble in 2007 a block away at the World Bank.
Wolfowitz was accused of arranging a tax-free pay rise for a companion who worked alongside him at the Bank. Strauss-Kahn is accused of at least two rapes, and acknowledges an affair with a subordinate, whose contract was later bought out.
About Wolfowitz, we heard this:
“[The Bank’s] governance and ethics must obviously be impeccable. I fully trust the governing board to draw the consequences it must draw.” – French finance minister Thierry Breton
“This whole business has damaged the Bank and should not have happened.” – UK development minister Hilary Benn
“It is not the World Bank’s credibility but Mr. Wolfowitz’s credibility that is on the line.” Swiss economics minister Doris Leuthard
And Germany’s development minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, questioned “whether [Wolfowitz] still has the credibility to represent the position of the World Bank?”
Now on Strauss-Kahn:
“Everyone knows that Dominique Strauss-Kahn is a libertine, and that he is distinguished from others by the fact that he doesn’t try and hide it… In puritanical American, infiltrated by rigorous Protestantism, financial misdeeds are far more tolerated than pleasures of the flesh.” – European Parliament member Gilles Savary
“We cannot rule out the thought of a trap.” French minister for overseas cooperation Henri de Raincourt
“Imagine that we discover that it’s a maid who has only been a maid for two days. …The investigation will tell whether it’s true or not true.” – French businessman and former Adidas owner Bernard Tapie
“That he could be taken in like that seems astounding, so he must have been trapped.” – Head of Christian Democratic Party Christine Boutin, in an interview with French television.
“Too insistent, he often comes close to harassment. A weakness known by the media, but which nobody mentions. (We are in France.) The I.M.F., however, is an international institution with Anglo-Saxon morals. A misplaced gesture, a too specific allusion, and it will be a media scramble.” – correspondent for Libération, Jean Quatremer
Strauss-Kahn’s defense is attempting to build a case upon the maid seducing him, but according to French media: “when the young woman arrived, the lawyers were surprised at her very unattractive appearance.”
forgetn // May 17, 2011 at 2:08 pm
Tessa:
Looks like a case of “one of us” , whereas Paul Wolfowitz was definitively not one of the boys. I love the use of “Libertine”, which really should mean dirty old man getting away with inappropriate behavior.
I bet you that over the next few weeks more women will come out with stories about DSK’s inappropriate (and frankly disgusting) behavior. BTW, love the lawyers new pitch, it was consensual… what a load
think4yourself // May 17, 2011 at 2:13 pm
Yes, the French support their own versus an American was one of the Bush Neo-cons, that pursued a policy the French almost universally detested. Also, Wolfowitz was involved in an issue related to abuse of power that related to his job.
Obviously the only solution is Schwarzenneger for IMF President.
Chris Balsz // May 17, 2011 at 2:59 pm
Jerry Lewis is available.
nhthinker // May 17, 2011 at 3:34 pm
Bill Clinton…
Al Gore…
… have the necessary reputations.
think4yourself // May 17, 2011 at 3:52 pm
and
John Ensign…
Newt Gingrich…
I’m sure we can match Democratic and Republican options tit for tat – of course that might have been the problem in the first place.
LFC // May 18, 2011 at 10:16 am
And don’t forget David “Diaper Dude” Vitter, a man who loudly advocated that Clinton must go because of his affair and then proceeded to dig in his heels when his multiple visits to prostitutes while married came to light. The guy is the stereotype of a hypocrite.
sparse // May 17, 2011 at 2:15 pm
two things-
one, strauss-kahn is not a conservative american, he is a french socialist. it is doubtful he ever stood shoulder-to-shoulder with a moralizing party. this does not excuse his behavior, but it at least make him consistent. a huge part of the criticism of wolfowitz was the hypocrisy angle. and hypocrisy makes one more unfit for such a position of trust than does being conspicuously randy. i emohasize that i said more unfit. if the allegations are true, they are both unfit.
two, this just happened. half of the examples cited of french leniency are really just calls to not condemn a man before the facts are in.
LFC // May 17, 2011 at 2:15 pm
The French have a recent history of protecting famous rapists. Remember how they protected (and continue to protect) Roman Polanski?
hisgirlfriday // May 17, 2011 at 2:42 pm
Can’t we just agree that both Paul Wolfowitz and Dominique Strauss-Kahn are awful in their own special ways?
forgetn // May 17, 2011 at 3:01 pm
I’m with HGF.
On another note, the departure of DSK from the scene will have a huge impact on international affairs, I know no one cares about that in america. Still, it remains that DSK was/is one of the most vocal proponents of Greece, and one of the few who was listened to by Merkel.
The impact of a change at the IMF, could have unknown repercussions on American’s own monetary policies. If Greece defaults on its loans (likely) then investors will look at other countries that have deficit issues (yes I know America is not the same as Greece) and may price that risk accordingly.
Unintended consequence of what appears to be a dirty old man!
Go figure
pkw1689 // May 17, 2011 at 3:19 pm
Great post, Ms. Berenson! Thanks.
Fastball // May 17, 2011 at 4:11 pm
If DSK wants to be a “libertine,” he can go to a whorehouse. There’s a world of difference between dissolute libertines and sexual predators who stalk, kidnap, and attempt to force themselves on hotel maids.
Not polishing any apples for Wolfowitz, but he wasn’t accused of sexual violence.
Nanotek // May 17, 2011 at 4:19 pm
“Many in the French and European elite have expressed surprising sympathy for IMF president Dominique Strauss-Kahn, now under arrest for attempted rape. … They were not nearly so forgiving toward Paul Wolfowitz, when he got into trouble in 2007 a block away at the World Bank.”
“they” implies the same personalities involved in your hypothetical double standard. And yet no one person operating under two standards was offered — merely different people framed as French or European elites.
By that measure, anyone could concoct a similar article about anything involving the double standards of the conservative elites, liberal elites, libertarian elites, FrumForum elites, whatever.
Someone from Yale — the top school in the nation — should cautiously criticize “elites” for their double-standards.
Frumplestiltskin // May 17, 2011 at 6:22 pm
I agree with HGF, what the hell does Paul Wolfowitz have to do with anything? It was years ago, he worked for the World Bank not IMF, he sucked at it while Kahn was widely respected. If the allegations are true (and that is just what they are now) then Kahn deserves the prison sentence he will get, but don’t throw no pity party for Wolfowitz, it is pathetic. He got what he deserved (which was a sacking).
Thucydides73 // May 17, 2011 at 7:13 pm
Wolfowitz was trying to reform the World Bank, which like the IMF is notorious for it’s inefficiency. The Europeans hated the reforms that Wolfowitz was trying to institute,in particular his desire to fight corruption. The World Bank has tolerated corruption from governments for years despite the impact this has on the economic growth of the borrowing countries.
Thus, Wolfowitz was thrown to the wolves over the raise to his girlfriend, despite his policy of disclosing his relationship with this woman to the board and asked the board to let him recuse himself over any decisions involving her.
Prior to this alleged rape, DSK had a sexual relationship with a female staff member and the IMF did not fire him nor did Europe’s leadership argue for his ouster, quite the opposite in fact.
thijsvn // May 17, 2011 at 8:35 pm
Why bring the “European elite” into this? Can’t we all just agree that the french are arrogant, narcistic hypocrits? You’re needlessly complicating an otherwise straightforward problem, which is the french people in general.
SteveT // May 18, 2011 at 2:43 am
I like the French. A lot.
ottovbvs // May 18, 2011 at 10:03 am
Fortunately Americans are completely immune from the application of double standards. Our purity in such matters is unquestioned.
Graychin // May 18, 2011 at 10:17 am
To summarize the article: LEAVE WOLFIE ALONE!
But these two incidents have a false equivalence at best: “Wolfowitz was accused of arranging a tax-free pay rise for a companion who worked alongside him at the Bank.”
L’affaire Wolfowitz involved misuse of World Bank money. Not so with Strauss-Kahn. Whatever happened, at least SK didn’t use his organization’s money to pay the woman in question.
Punish the French Rapist, but the Real Target Should Be the IMF « Sago // May 18, 2011 at 10:21 am
[...] For those who want to hoist Europeans on their own petard, Tessa Berenson has a great little column at the Frum Forum pointing out how many of the political elite on the other side of the Atlantic thought it was [...]
gover // May 18, 2011 at 2:30 pm
At the time it seemed pretty obvious nobody cared much about the impropriety, they were using any excuse they could find to get rid of Wolfowitz. Understandable.
anniemargret // May 18, 2011 at 10:34 pm
Who cares? The cheaters are louses…or lousi. whatever…in whatever language or culture. Self-serving creepy creeps. And the women who creep out with them deserve the same criticism. They know full well of what they do.
The root of all evil is not money. It is greed and selfishness.
anniemargret // May 18, 2011 at 10:36 pm
OF course with Mr. French, is is apparent he has a problem keeping his pants zipped. These guys are always trying to put a pretty glow on an ugly behavior. Never works.