ARGENTINA: Argentines hope for stability with new president-elect

Argentines weary of political and economic instability look to their new president-elect, First Lady Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, to keep the country on an even keel. A new day, and a new president in Argentina on Monday (October 29) -- but with first lady Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner the president-elect it will be a familiar face running the "Casa Rosada" presidential palace. Fernandez officially takes over from her husband President Nestor Kirchner on December 10. It was a clear run to victory as official results showed her with well over 44.79 percent of the vote and a big lead over her closest rival (at 1120 GMT on Monday, with 95.61 of the votes counted). What is not so certain is how she will now handle some the country's thorny economic dilemmas, or other downsides of her husband's legacy, that include energy shortages, a shrinking budget surplus and a growing perception among some Argentines the Kirchners may have accumulated too much power. Argentines expect 20 percent inflation in the next year, double the official rate. Consumer confidence has slid 21 percent after hitting an all-time high in January, according to a survey done this month by the Torcuato Di Tella University. Although Fernandez is a new face her government will likely be perceived as a continuation of Kirchner's, giving her less margin to address the nagging concerns. Many analysts expect her to move gradually to reduce government spending, restore credibility to official inflation figures and raise utility rates -- but expect the differences will stop there. Most Argentines believe the same. "What can we hope for from a woman president, if she is the president's wife? I don't know but like always we have the hope that we can look forward to a better future," said newspaper seller Juan Jose Orellana. But that is why many people also voted for "Cristina" as she is known. After a deep 2001-02 economic crisis, South America's second largest economy has expanded at China-style rates since Kirchner came to office four years ago. Voters weary of repeated boom-and-bust cycles are looking to Fernandez for stability. "This is the best thing that could have happened for Argentina, it means that the work of her husband can continue," said a fresh food grocer, Ahmad Alauy. Much of Fernandez's support came from Argentina's poor and working classes in Buenos Aires province, the country's most populous, and the impoverished northern provinces, where many credit Kirchner with generating jobs. Where she was not so popular was amongst middle- and upper-class voters in several of Argentina's biggest cities, where opposition leader and anti-corruption crusader Elisa Carrio garnered much more of the vote.

ITN Source | October 29, 2007

Tags:. .certain. .forward. .crisis. .northern. .husbands