PARIS - France's Socialist Party said on Monday it was unlikely its erstwhile star Dominique Strauss-Kahn would enter the 2012 presidential race, despite the weakening of the sex assault case against him in New York.
Party spokesman Benoit Hamon said the idea that Srauss-Kahn could now run for the presidency was "the weakest" of all possible scenarios for the former IMF chief's political future.
He said, however, that if he opted to make a late entry for the Socialists' October primary, beyond the July 13 deadline for candidates to register, the party leadership would not block it.
"Let's leave Dominique Strauss-Kahn some breathing space and let him speak once he is ready," Hamon told a news conference.
In yet another twist that could hurt his future, a lawyer for French writer Tristane Banon told Reuters she would file a complaint against Strauss-Kahn on Tuesday for allegedly trying to rape her in early 2003 when she was 22.
