His term as managing director of the IMF expires in October 2012, several months after the election, which means the Socialist veteran would have to quit ahead of time if he wanted to challenge President Nicolas Sarkozy at the ballot box.
Strauss-Kahn usually sidesteps the issue but in a radio interview on Thursday, asked specifically about politics, he said he could imagine a scenario in which he left the IMF early. "As it stands, I've always said, I am planning to see out my mandate," he told RTL radio.
"But if you ask me whether in certain circumstances I could reconsider this question, the answer is yes, I could reconsider this question," he added, without going into details.
The former economy minister has seen his popularity surge in France since becoming head of the Washington-based IMF in 2007 and he regularly tops polls as the person on the left that the French would most like to see replace Sarkozy. However, a premature exit from Washington would carry many risks for Strauss-Kahn, as there is no guarantee that he could win enough backing from Socialist supporters to become their candidate for the 2012 ballot.
Asked whether Strauss-Kahn had informed the IMF he was thinking about returning to French politics, IMF spokeswoman Caroline Atkinson told reporters: "He repeated (in the interview) what he said many times, which is that he plans to see out his mandate at the IMF."
The Socialists plan to hold primary elections in 2011 to decide who should lead their party and polls have shown that many party members view Strauss-Kahn with suspicion, seeing him as too much of a free marketeer.
