Conspiracy on Hudson

So, the DSK story gets more interesting every day. I have no idea what was actually going on, I‘ll just wait for the Hollywood movie,  but what I‘m gathering from German sites is that there is quite some Schadenfreude about a banker's downfall, no matter what for. Many hope that some Wall Street big shots will follow (yeah, right). More remarkable, none of the usual suspects in the German media has come out to defend him yet (quite different from Polanski). Angela Merkel, of course, is pushing one of her competitors to become his successor, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who might otherwise run against her in the next elections.

As for France, DSK's next career step as the president of France is probably not happening. Of course, the conspiracy theorists are working overtime: Was he framed? And if, by whom? The CIA? The Fed  (he was responsible for the Euro)? Nicholas Sarkozy? The Freemansons? Gaddafi? The French secret service? Also—lets just keep spinning—if this results in Marine Le Pen becoming the first Front National president of France AND it would turn out that DSK is not guilty, albeit too late, that would make the L'Affaire Dreyfus look like small potatoes. Or, small Freedom Fries.

DSK

The big news in Germany is, of course, that IMF-head Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been arrested in New York for alleged rape.  I‘m not sure what to think of it. On the one hand, it seems improbable that a man of his position and age would conduct himself like that, especially in a foreign country known for its no-nonsense approach to law enforcement; on the other hand, he has a track record in France for an, err, unorthodox sex live. In addition, those people often think they are untouchable. Eliot Spitzer comes to mind; then again, Spitzer also comes to mind as someone who might have been set up.

So, to sum it up, I have no idea. There are some interesting points made in the German media, though; first, not only was he a major opponent of Nicholas Sarkozy (who is a conservative, while DSK is a Socialist), also, he was on his way to Greece to, in effect, rescue the Euro. So, could there anybody be interested in an Euro collapse? But, of course, again, the IMF is not headless now, it is run by the former number two, John Lipsky, He is an American, and a former banker with JP Morgan, Chase Manhattan, and Salomon Bros (not Goldman, Sachs, to my astonishment).

Politically speaking, the big winner might not be Sarkozy, but Marine Le Pen, the leader of the right wing Front National who is running against both. She already came out to denounce DSK, no big surprise here. In any case, that will be interesting.