Dominique Strauss-Kahn at FCCJ Tokyo: "Candidate for 2012 French presidential election? Hypothetical..."

But DSK does not deny or confirm...

DSK was our guest at the press club January 18th for his IMF visit to Tokyo and Hong Kong, he was in China 3 months ago.

✍ His stature as an international figure rises as the world globally is trying to handle the Great Recession of 2009, he creates quite a crowd in the FCCJ on Monday. 100 persons half of them journalists. Right after his address about "Asia and the Post-Crisis Global Economy" and prior to the Q&A, and as our Guest Speaker is well known to be a possible candidate for France 2012 Presidential Election, I ask him, privilege of the moderator, about his future and about the international and France political agenda:

-"It's been one year since president Obama is at the White House, what are the qualities required to lead a nation? Do you have, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the ambition to lead France one day"?

DSK: " Well... it's been one year that president Obama has been elected and I think what has been done this year by the US administration has tremendous importance. Now, you want to ask me a question about French politics which you know before I would not answer... So you are not surprised that I won't... -smiles from DSK-. Well, I am now dealing with global economic problems as the Head of the IMF. What may happen in the future is a question for the future. And you know how American' politicians say, they don't answer hypothetical questions, so, that's what I learned during this year in the United States." -smiles from DSK and praise from the audience-

According to the last Ipsos barometer for the Point to appear on Thursday January 21, Dominique Strauss-Kahn is the preferred political official of the French. It precedes Bernard Kouchner, and Rama Yade. Martine Aubry does not take off. 2012 French presidential election, the leader of the current French opposition Martine Aubry stated a few hours before in Paris (RTL) that she and DSK would be able to lead the nation prior to the primary to be launched within the opposition.

✌ Definition of hypothetical: 1) Supposed but not necessarily real or true. 2) Logic denoting or containing a proposition of the logical form. DSK's answer captivated FCCJ's audience.

Other main themes and quotes we had during the event:

Quotes: Dominique Strauss-Kahn said China and other developing Asian economies are leading a global recovery that is faster and stronger than expected, but warned that money rushing into emerging markets could lead to asset bubbles. He strongly suggested that the IMF would raise its 2010 global growth forecast from the 3.1 per cent it projected in October. China, India and other emerging Asian economies were close to returning to their pre-crisis growth rates, while rebounds in the U.S., Japan and other advanced economies remained "sluggish."

"The political will was strong 8 months ago (G20) still strong ago 6 months (Pittsburgh) ago but there is a risk the consensus built at climax, could vanish as recovery comes." While the IMF doesn't forecast a "double-dip," or second recession, risks remain, he said. "We have to very cautious because this recovery remains very fragile." While hundreds of billions in stimulus spending by governments around the world avoided another Great Depression, DSK said, the most important risk facing the global economy is deciding how and when to reverse those polices and deal with resulting debt burdens. "Now we have to fix the consequences of the policy that has been put in place to fight against the crisis," he said. "Finding the right time to implement exit policies is really a difficult one." "If you exit too late, you waste resources," he said. "If you exit too early, you have a risk of going back into recession."

The IMF recommends that governments devise policies that will support the labour market given still-high joblessness, which could lead to social unrest in some countries. A key lesson from the global financial crisis is that authorities need to beef up supervision - more so than regulations - of financial institutions, DSK said.

Jlk moderator, with Dominique Strauss-Kahn, presidential candidate? Favored in the French surveys (picture shima press tokyo)

FCCJ audience, Tokyo January 18, 2010