Sarkozy finds silence is the best policy on DSK

One voice has been notably absent to date during 'l'affaire Strauss-Kahn'. Never one to miss an opportunity to do down his political opponents, Nicolas Sarkozy has maintained an out-of-character silence about the events unfurling around DSK, the man previously seen as the biggest threat to the French president's continued presence in the Elysee palace after next year's election.

Beyond an alleged remark that "I did warn him" and a call for his own UMP party to show "sang-froid, courage, unity and dignity", Sarkozy has so far allowed his political allies to do the talking. PM Francois Fillon has said that "if the deeds of which DSK is accused are verified, we would be faced with a serious and inexcusable act".

Sarko's silence may be paying dividends. The first poll since Strauss-Kahn's arrest shows the president is ahead of one of the candidates the Socialist party is most likely to run against him.

In a hypothetical first round, Sarkozy trails Francois Hollande by 23 to 22 per cent and is tied with Martine Aubry (22-22) - but he would beat his 2007 presidential opponent Segolene Royal (23-18) into third place behind the far-right's Marine Le Pen (20 per cent).

Sarkozy's PR machine has moved quickly this week to maximise its political capital. While the French media was struggling to digest the full implications of Strauss-Kahn's incarceration on Monday, the president's 82-year-old father Pal told German newspaper Bild that his daughter-in-law, Carla Bruni, was indeed pregnant - a breathlessly opportunistic act, say some political observers.

"It smells strongly like a communication plan to me," the Daily Telegraph reported Arnaud Mercier, a political communications professor at Metz university, as saying. "The in-laws announcing the news on the same day... There can be no doubt or possible coincidence."

Meanwhile, Le Journal de Dimanche reported yesterday that the UMP are now training their guns on Hollande, whom they had previously been lionising as a counterbalance to the popularity of Strauss-Kahn.

A Sarkozy loyalist remarked how "DSK was able to produce 50 photographs of himself with the world's leaders - poor Francois can only dig out some snaps of himself with mushroom pickers!"

Of course, the gaffe-prone Sarkozy is more than capable of turning this golden opportunity into a disaster: any public crowing or gloating over the fate of Strauss-Kahn wouldn't play well with a French public who remain unconvinced of the IMF chief's guilt (57 per cent believe he was set up).

But for now, the president is in control of his political destiny for the first time in many moons. ·