The Last Great Seducer?

Volume 2, Issue 34- August 26-September 1, 2011

International Tribune

As the old saying goes, it is hard to teach old dogs new tricks. And some are even more distracted when they see a bitch.  The resistance to play by the rule is so overwhelming – especially the older they become.  Maybe Dominique Strauss-Kahn (DSK) finally learned from his last American lesson.  If not, he has a second trial waiting when he returns back home to France.  

The rape case set in motion by the Sofitel Hotel chambermaid Nafissatou Diallo against the former Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund - nicknamed the "Great Seducer" - was officially dropped this week by the New York District Attorney’s office.  The charges were dropped for reasons that the plaintiff’s arguments were inconsistent together with her questionable past.  After almost three months of house arrest in his posh Tribeca home, the once front-runner in the 2012 French presidential election to beat President Sarkozy has been set free.  Let us just hope that the lessons have been learned from this case, not only by the man himself, but also across all the self-entitled, self-righteous, and privileged elites.  Your pedigree does not separate you from the rest of the pack.  

Paris was burning with news of the DSK affair for the last 3 months.  Everyone was talking about the ‘great seducer’ and the end of his political career.  How can one allegation tarnish a man’s reputation without a full trial?  DSK is considered one of the smartest men in the French political arena.  He rose to power and won the approval of many after he introduced and helped implement the 35 working hour law in France. One can imagine how the French were furious and shocked to see how one of their comrades was immediately handcuffed and brought to justice the American way. They cried out injustice and barbaric, quelle horreur!

As the Franco-American case heats up this summer, the recrimination by each side went head on.  While most Americans see DSK as the villain, in France he is seen as a victim. Oh la la!  The ‘great seducer’ is a victim of a bigger international conspiracy that is preventing him from running for the presidential election by the powerful bourgeois at home.  On the other hand, it is merely a case of domestic slandering by the pauper maid in a foreign land. 

And it gets even more catty.  After his humiliating ‘perp walk’, the pompous French philosopher and DSK’s long-time friend, Bernard-Henri Lévy called the entire experience “pornographic” and that this is a prime example of "the cannibalization of justice by the sideshow." Unfortunately, this kind of remark is too common in this side of the Atlantic.  But that is because most of the French politicians and the media are in bed together monopolizing every platform.  Whereas American journalist Peter Beinart of the Daily Beast wrote, "whether or not DSK goes free, his case reflects well on American justice. We can hold our heads high. This was a downright inspiring example of equality before the law.”  Indeed, both sides are vocal in their own right, but I prefer equal treatment over innuendos.   

The message echoes an age-old cancer in our society between the well-connected and those who are not. It is a class battle among the rich and poor, in Europe and America- when you have the right inside track, you can surely get away with it.   What must be examined is the deviant behavior of the ‘great seducer’ and the aspiring ones who feel they are untouchable and seemingly above the law that should be stopped. 

May this be his last great seduction.