Strauss-Kahn faces fresh hurdle at home as US woes ease

FORMER IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was hit with a fresh complaint of attempted rape in France yesterday, a new hurdle to any political comeback, even though US sex assault charges against him may be lifted this month.

And in yet another twist, the hotel maid who accused Strauss-Kahn in May of trying to rape her sued the New York Post and four of its journalists for reporting that she was a prostitute.

The New York Post cited an unnamed senior investigator as saying prosecutors would drop their charges at a court hearing in two weeks, or even earlier, due to doubts about the credibility of the alleged victim, a 32-year-old Guinean immigrant.

In Paris, however, French writer Tristane Banon filed a legal complaint alleging Strauss-Kahn tried to assault her in 2003, when she was 22, her lawyer said. Banon gave a graphic account in a 2007 TV talk show of her allegation that Strauss-Kahn tried to rape her during an interview in Paris. Yesterday was the first time she has taken legal action.

Her complaint will be examined by a judge who will question both Banon and Strauss-Kahn before deciding to either place the Frenchman under investigation or dismiss the case.

Signs that the US charges are unravelling have set off a round of political sparring that threatens to poison the run-up to the April 2012 French presidential election.

French left-wingers, furious their star candidate has been all but knocked out of the election race, dismissed the Banon complaint as more evidence that Strauss-Kahn’s foes are determined to bring him down.

“Strauss-Kahn’s destiny has been snatched from him. All his friends are asking how it is possible that a man who is director of the IMF and a presidential candidate finds himself in prison a few days before he submits his candidacy,” said Socialist deputy Jean-Christophe Cambadelis.

“This is clearly a conspiracy against the Socialist Party,” he told LCI television.

Strauss-Kahn plans to bring a counter-claim against Banon, his lawyer said on Monday.

Regardless of the outcome, opinion polls since the weekend suggest that more than half of French voters think Strauss-Kahn’s political career is over.

Francois Hollande, the left’s new election front runner, was dragged into the row yesterday, when he was asked during a trip to the French Caribbean island of Martinique to respond to Banon’s allegation that he had known about the 2003 incident and encouraged her at the time to press charges.

“I really want to put a stop to this controversy, rumours and gossip,” Hollande told reporters in Fort-de-France.

“This is all becoming quite unbearable.”