Keeping Up with the Kirchners - by Jaime Daremblum - The Weekly Standard

Will Argentina’s first couple win another presidential term? - The Weekly Standard, by Jaime Daremmblum, 26/07/2010 1:00 PM, excerpt/extracto.-

Last summer, pundits were writing the political obituaries of Cristina and Néstor Kirchner, Argentina’s first couple. Their coalition had suffered big losses in national legislative elections. Néstor, the former Argentine president (2003–2007), had failed in his bid to win a congressional seat, and he had subsequently resigned as leader of the Peronist Party. Cristina, the incumbent president, had seen her popularity plummet. The decline in global commodity prices was causing serious economic pain. Foreign investors were fleeing. All signs pointed to an opposition victory in the 2011 presidential election.

A year later, things look different. Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal declared that the Kirchners are “enjoying a political resurgence,” thanks to an economic rebound and Argentina’s strong performance in the World Cup. (Two days after the Journal article appeared, Argentina was eliminated from the tournament in the quarterfinals by Germany.) “Mr. Kirchner’s hopes of returning to the presidency have strengthened,” says the Financial Times. (...)

Jaime Daremblum, who served as Costa Rica’s ambassador to the United States from 1998 to 2004, is director of the Center for Latin American Studies at the Hudson Institute.