Who knows what transpired in that Sofitel hotel room between Dominique Strauss-Kahn and his alleged victim. (We refuse to use the invitation to bestow trendiness on Strauss-Kahn with the elevation to “DSK” moniker. Similarly, to Bernard-Henry Levy running around Libya as the intrepid “BHL”).
How fragile Strauss-Kahn’s undeniable influence turned out to be. Wielding the American-created international bureaucracy, like his predecessors he stood astride the global economy as a multi-lateral colossus. His words could raise or lower the living standards of millions. His smart action requesting greater liquidity in 2008 is credited as helping avert international meltdown.
Yet his vaunted stature vanished when Port Authority plain clothes officers boarded a plane and arrested him. He had no retinue, no phalanx. Not even diplomatic immunity for the non-official allegations in question. All that soft power, evaporated.