By Peggy Hollinger in Paris

Dominique Strauss-Kahn said it himself just days before being arrested for alleged assault on a New York chambermaid in May. His weaknesses as the Socialist party?s candidate to challenge Nicolas Sarkozy in next year?s election were ?money and girls?.

Now that the charges appear to be crumbling, many expect Mr Strauss-Kahn to return to his rightful place as one of France?s most popular politicians. In one poll on Monday, 42 per cent of those questioned said he would make a good president – a high approval rating in a fractured political electorate. The Socialist party, for its part, said it would not stand in his way if he decided to go for its nomination.

But the question is whether Mr Strauss-Kahn has overcome those weaknesses during his seven-week ordeal. To be sure, the French may be more tolerant of sexual adventures than the prudish American or British voter. But there are some pretty fundamental conditions – discretion and a respect for the office of president.

Much has been published, true or not, about Mr Strauss-Kahn?s behaviour in his private life that could undermine his presidential image.

If the former head of the International Monetary Fund challenges for the Socialist nomination, there could be a wave of allegations – now the media?s self-imposed taboo on reporting politicians? private lives appears to have been broken.

On Monday, the lawyer for Tristane Banon, the journalist who alleges she was molested by Mr Strauss-Kahn during a private interview in 2003, said his client planned to sue for attempted rape. Mr Strauss-Kahn?s lawyers responded immediately with a countersuit.

But Ms Banon?s claim proves that the road back could be far from smooth, even if, in the eyes of the French public, Mr Strauss-Kahn is exonerated in the US.

French voters will also have to forgive him his fondness for the high life. One of his first acts on winning back freedom of movement was to dine in a chic New York restaurant on a $100 plate of truffle pasta.

In many ways, money is the greater sin in France, where attitudes towards wealth have always been complex, more so for a potential candidate for a party still hobbled by its Marxist inclinations. Even before his troubles, Mr Strauss-Kahn?s free market philosophy posed a problem for the party left.

Over the next few weeks Mr Strauss-Kahn will have to decide to take on these risks and fight for the nomination and presidency or step back.

The first scenario will work only if he has been cleared by the US judicial authorities of any wrongdoing. The slightest doubt over his behaviour in that New York hotel room would only give the moral high ground to his opponents both within and outside his party.

And there is always the chance he could lose. The polls may be sympathetic to a man seen by many people as the victim of a manipulation, but who knows what they will show in a few weeks when the emotion of the moment has faded and the focus returns to his politics.

Perhaps the easier and more sensible option would be for Mr Strauss-Kahn to say he needed to take time out from politics to recover. No one could blame him for wanting to spend time with his family and friends after the turmoil of recent weeks.

And it would not necessarily mean the end of his political career. Assuming he is cleared, Mr Strauss-Kahn could play kingmaker in the Socialist party, most likely backing Martine Aubry, the party leader, with whom he had struck a power-sharing deal for the current Socialist primary.

But instead of promising Ms Aubry the post of prime minister in his government, Mr Strauss-Kahn could easily serve as premier for a President Aubry. As prime minister, he could fufil many of his presidential ambitions without having to run a brutal election campaign.

However, those who know Mr Strauss-Kahn best suggest he is unlikely to choose this option. If he decides to go back to politics, they say, he will want the Elys?e palace for himself.

It is too early to say what Mr Strauss-Kahn?s decision will be.

He probably does not know himself. His fate will only be decided if and when the sexual assault charges brought by the New York hotel chambermaid against him are dropped.