Strauss-Kahn says sorry for moral error
FORMER head of the IMF Dominique Strauss-Kahn apologised to his country last night for a sexual encounter with a hotel maid he said was a “moral error” he would regret all his life, and vowed to stay out of the Socialist Party’s 2012 election campaign in France.
In his first interview since a New York sex assault case derailed his IMF career and wrecked his chances of running for president, Strauss-Kahn said he was angry with himself for what he called an ill-judged but consensual liaison that had let down his country and hurt his family.
“It was a moral error, and I am not proud of it,” Strauss-Kahn said in a French TV interview watched by millions. “I regret it, infinitely, and I don’t think I am finished with regretting it.”
Sounding repentant but also defensive over the rush to judge him as a criminal for a private act he said involved no violence, the former International Monetary Fund head said he had “lost everything” over the incident.
He also briefly spoke about the Eurozone debt crisis, warning that governments and banks must shoulder inevitable losses stemming from Greece’s financial problems.