Argentines this week elected their glamorous first lady, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, to succeed her husband as president. President Nestór Kirchner, who decided not to run for re-election after just one term, will hand over power to his wife in December. Fernández will not be Argentina’s first female president— but she is the first to be elected by the people rather than inheriting the office, as Isabelita Perón did in 1974.
Fernández, a senator from the Peronist party who served as her husband’s top advisor, trounced her opponents, taking 45 percent of the vote. That was nearly twice the share of her closest rival, center-left congresswoman Elisa Carrio. Allow me to specifically address my sisters in gender, Fernández, 54, said in her victory speech. I know we can all do great work.
So is Fernández the next Evita or Argentina’s Hillary ? asked Robert Mur in Chile’s La Nación. Fernández is already sick of being compared to both women, but the similarities are hard to ignore. Perón was, like Fernández, a populist first lady who had a taste for luxury and fashion yet managed to endear herself to the common folk. Clinton is, like Fernández, a senator as well as former first lady. But Fernández takes care to point out that she had a thriving political career long before her husband became Argentina’s president, while Clinton did not run for office until her husband left the White House.
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There’s a more obvious comparison for Fernández, said Mary Anastasia O’Grady in The Wall Street Journal. Politically, she’s a lot like her husband—and that’s not good news. Kirchner made a mess of the economy through a deadly combination of excessive government spending and price controls. The policy gave Argentina short-term prosperity, but the hangover is now coming in the form of inflation. Unfortunately, it’s unlikely the new government will break with the past.
That remains to be seen, said The Washington Post in an editorial. Fernández is a seasoned politician with more interest in the outside world than her predecessor. Moreover, the Kirchners are riding a wave of popularity. Fernández has a resounding mandate. Could she actually use it to deliver the tough medicine the economy needs?
