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Will DSK help forge ties between Cuba and US?

Oliver Gee
Oliver Gee - [email protected]
Will DSK help forge ties between Cuba and US?
Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn at a tennis match in May. Photo: AFP

Reports in France on Wednesday suggested the disgraced former IMF chief, Dominique Strauss-Kahn has landed a role as an advisor to Cuba's leader Raul Castro to help the country develop a new business relationship with the US.

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Dominique Strauss-Kahn looks set to play a key role in building renewed ties between the US and Cuba, now that the two countries are on speaking terms.
 
With diplomatic relations between Cuba and the US now restored Strauss-Kahn looks set to be a key figure in rebuilding financial bridges between the two countries, US website Politico revealed on Wednesday, citing sources close to DSK.
 
The website reported that leader Raul Castro has called on DSK to help advise the government on how to build a new business relationship with their former sworn enemy, which has maintained its trade embargo on the Caribbean island nation.
 
Both DSK and Cuba's leader have common ground in their opinions of the current Greek crisis, noted Politico. 
 
Castro has praised the southern European country for its "courage" against "external aggression" in the crisis, while DSK used his first public statement to criticize the IMF's method of tackling it.
 
And who better to have an opinion of the crisis than the Frenchman, who oversaw the first bailout of Greece in 2010.  
 
 
Strauss-Kahn has kept a fairly low profile since he was acquitted in June of all charges of pimping after a trial which saw his sordid sex life laid bare for all to see.
 
The trial in January caused further harm to his reputation which tumbled after he was arrested on suspicion of sexual assaulting a hotel maid in New York in 2010.
 
Although DSK was not convicted on either occasion the scandals meant his chances of making a political comeback in France have all but been wiped out.
 
But that doesn't mean he can't still be involved in high level politics abroad.
 
The former IMF head, who is living full-time in Morocco, has already indicated that he is far from hanging up his boots, mysteriously taking to his own verified Twitter account in late June to share a handwritten message saying "Jack is back". He now has 58,000 followers despite only tweeting four times.
 
And even though the comeback trail appears destined to continue abroad, a large portion of the French public would welcome Strauss-Kahn back with open arms.
 
Indeed, a poll from earlier this month showed that DSK was the second most popular choice among a list of left-wing politicians for the 2017 presidential election, way ahead of the incumbent, Francois Hollande.
 
With 37 percent of the public saying they think DSK would make a good president, he was only outshone by the support for current PM Manuel Valls at 47 percent. Hollande, whose poll ratings have plummeted over his handling of the economy, managed just 23 percent.

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