Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn delivered yesterday in Beijing his first public speech since quitting the post amid allegations of sexual assault.
In a keynote speech to an annual conference of economists organised by NetEase.com, a mainland news portal, Strauss-Kahn shared his insights on the euro-zone debt crisis.
He called for greater integration of European Union countries to solve the present economic crisis, which he said could continue for a further five to seven years if effective measures were not implemented.
He refused to mention his arrest in May after being accused of sexual assault by a New York hotel maid or his subsequent resignation from the International Monetary Fund. Prosecutors dropped the case in August, saying his accuser was not a credible witness because of lies she had told, but the scandal badly damaged his reputation.
Formerly perceived as a likely strong challenger to Nicolas Sarkozy in the French presidential election next year, Strauss-Kahn said in an interview with a French television station in September that he was now unlikely to join that race. However, he did not rule out the possibility of returning to political life.
Focusing on Europe's economic malaise yesterday, he projected a pessimistic outlook, saying the euro zone lacked integrated fiscal budgets, monetary policies and a central financial organ.
'We need to have the European Union be a real union. That is the only way to solve the crisis,' he said.
