Rachida Dati in Iraq by Zuzana Zelenakova

French politician and Member of the European Parliament Rachida Dati visited Baghdad in Iraq as one of European MPs keeping an eye on the elections, the second since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. Dati is a former French Minister of Justice and the first Muslim woman to occupy one of the top posts in the French politics. During her visit to Baghdad Dati took a walk alongside the river Tigris together with French ambassador to Iraq Boris Bouillon and deputy speaker of the French parliament Maurice Leroy. Followed by a flock of journalists she also visited St. Raphael hospital in the centre of the capital. "It's important that (foreign) politicians be present in Iraq t! o take stock of its rapid evolution in terms of democratisation, the will of the people to have a strong Iraq, a sovereign Iraq and a democratic Iraq," she said. The figure of Rachida Dati is surrounded by the air of controversy as she is fond of expensive designer clothes, for which she has been often criticized, and she is a single mother of about one year old baby girl Zohra. She refused to unveil the identity of the father. As a mother herself she was rather comfortable while walking through the Baghdad hospital and observing new-born babies. "It's vital for me for my political engagement to be combined with civic engagement," she said. The media have speculated a great deal about the identity of little Zohra´s father suggesting several possibilities. More than professional relationship between Dati and the French President Nicolas Sarkozy has never been confirmed, but there has been plenty of rumours. Another possible father was former Spanish Prime Minister Jose ! Maria Aznar, however, he denied the claims immediately. Then t! here is Henri Proglio, the president of water supply and drainage company Veolia Environment.

related story (sgx16723): http://www.france24.com/en/20100306-french-politician-brings...

by Zuzana Zelenakova for SigEx Ventures (http://sigexventures.com)

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