PARIS/ST. PETERSBURG, July 31 (Itar-Tass) - Former managing director of International Monetary Fund (IMF) Dominique Strauss-Kahn intends to focus his efforts on working as an advisor of the governments and major enterprises in various countries. The French economist said in an interview with ITAR-TASS news agency and Rossiya-24 TV channel that he considers his participation in the French political life a past stage of life.
Strauss-Kahn’s political career was disrupted in 2011, when he was arrested in New York. The U.S. authorities accused him of raping a maid at the New York hotel Sofitel, but the charges were lifted over lack of evidence. After this incident Strauss-Kahn resigned from IMF chief post and refused to nominate his candidacy at the French presidential elections, though he was considered as one of the forerunners of the presidential race.
“If your question is that how many people did not want to see me as the French president, my reply is there were many of them,” Strauss-Kahn said. “Still, it seemed to me personally that there were fewer of those who did not want to see me as the French president than those who did want to. But we will never learn this,” he noted.
The French economist noted that the development of the situation made him quit the presidential race in France. “But for me these are affairs of the past days. Today I act as an advisor for governments and major enterprises in many countries in all parts of the world, including Russia, Africa and Latin America,” he said. “I try to perform this role as good as possible and give the most useful recommendations. The politics is left for me in the past,” Strauss-Kahn noted.
Speaking on his appointment in the supervisory boards of the Russian Fund of Direct Investments and Russian Regional Development Bank, which is controlled by the Russian oil giant Rosneft, Dominique Strauss-Kahn noted that both of these companies “set the task to have a broader vision of all markets in the world.” “The chief executives of these enterprises decided that my knowledge will be useful to these companies, and this work suits me, because I believe that all economic forces should do the joint work,” the French expert noted. “This is my experience of the struggle against the economic crisis in 2008, 2009 and 2010. I did not change my position on this issue: the cooperation between four or five world economic centers in particular can provide for the resetting of the economy. On my part, I try to make my moderate contribution in the common cause,” Strauss-Kahn underlined.
Russia has many domestic needs, Strauss-Kahn believes. “Therefore, it is just that a large part of resources in Russia is aimed at domestic development today. But it is impossible to live without the ties with the world, it is impossible to try to invest only in the economy of your homeland,” he said in conclusion. “I believe that it is in favor of the interests of not only Russian economy, but also other countries. Russia needs not tomorrow, but in the years and decades to come to internationalize substantially its economic activity. And this way to invest in other countries of the world and Europe,” Strauss-Kahn pointed out.
Before working as IMF chief in 2007-2011 Dominique Strauss-Kahn had a major experience in leadership of key French ministries. In different years he headed the ministries of industry, economy and finance. He was thrice elected deputy of the National Assembly and headed the parliamentary financial committee. Professor of famous Paris Institute of Political Studies Sciences Po and the Higher School of Business Studies, he is an author of scientific research on the economy of France and its Western partners.