EDITORIAL : THE INDEPENDENT, IRELAND

         

 

The fall and fall of an IMF high flier

ONCE Dominique Strauss-Kahn was arrested in New York and charged with attempted rape, other criminal sexual acts and unlawful imprisonment, two things became apparent.

He could not survive as managing director of the International Monetary Fund, and his chances of becoming President of France had evaporated. But there is a third point, of worldwide importance and of special concern in Ireland, in the common currency zone and in the EU as a whole.

Yesterday Mr Strauss-Kahn was due to meet Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and attend a meeting of the EU finance ministers. These facts alone give some indication of his role in the global financial system.

He took over as head of the IMF in 2007. Some years before, he had been minister of economics, finance and industry in France. In that powerful ministry he was reckoned a towering success. In the IMF, he showed himself an activist and a man of imagination and influence, praised by the Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz -- a critic of the organisation -- as "a sagacious leader".

He proclaimed that his mission was not only the traditional one, to achieve financial stability, but to promote growth and employment. But throughout his reign he had to struggle in the face of the world financial crisis. His successor -- whose identity and country of origin remain in doubt -- will have no easy task filling his shoes.

But at a human level, this affair is more than a sensation of historic proportions. It is a tragedy.

His own country has reacted with emotions ranging from outrage to embarrassment . The charges against him are among the most serious imaginable. And memories have been refreshed of other real or alleged incidents, one involving a consensual but nevertheless disgraceful relationship with a subordinate.

It is impossible to guess the truth of such allegations, or the allegation that has landed him in an American prison, and it would be improper to try. Indeed, it may be that there is no foundation for the accusation. Many in France, including political opponents, have denounced the whole affair -- with or without evidence -- as a "set-up".

Whatever the truth, France will have to re-elect President Nicolas Sarkozy or find a different successor. And the IMF will have to battle on.

Let us all enjoy these historic few days

HOW will we spend the next three days? It would be pleasing to think that we could crowd the streets to see Queen Elizabeth passing by, preferably in a Cinderella-style carriage, and hope for a regal wave.

Sadly, the image is far removed from reality. Those who prefer to live in the past -- a past which often exists only in their gloomy imaginations -- are a tiny minority, but the security forces have to take their threats seriously.

As an unfortunate result, the royal visit and the hopeful and generous relationship between Ireland and Britain which it celebrates will bring on to the streets few joyous citizens but 8,000 gardai, 2,000 soldiers and 150 armed British police.

And most of us will suffer bouts of nervousness, finding the thought that "something might go wrong" beyond bearing. We should approach this magnificent occasion in a different frame of mind.

Monarchs and other eminent persons often have to endure, and put the best face on, periods of boredom. In Ireland, of all places, Elizabeth II need not be bored. She has a lifetime's curiosity to satisfy. And this little old lady with an encyclopaedic knowledge of bloodstock is always content when surrounded by horses.

There is every reason to expect that she will enjoy herself. We her hosts should put aside our misgivings, try to ignore the threats and the sealed manhole covers, and enjoy ourselves too.