MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Duhalde campaigns for Kirchner

Argentine caretaker president Eduardo Duhalde abandoned his so far impartial and distant stand and openly campaigned for Néstor Kirchner, presidential candidate for the coming April 27 election.

According to Argentine analysts an opinion poll rebound of his eternal rival and presidential hopeful Carlos Menem, and the need to ensure that Mr. Kirchner "takes off" convinced Mr. Duhalde to jump into the campaign arena that is basically a dispute among candidates from the ruling Justicialista party.

"We must defeat the past in the first round, we need to rapidly end the past, because the past is a bad dream, a via crucis, a nightmare, and bless poor Argentina if to reach the future we return to the past", said President Duhalde, punching in what has become the major drive of Mr. Kirchner's campaign, that former president Menem is "a ghost of the past".

Just before leaving for a brief tour of Europe, (Spain, Italy, Vatican), president Duhalde met with the regional leaders of the province of Buenos Aires, his electoral stronghold, and the message was direct and clear: "work and work hard for "skinny" Kirchner's campaign". Mr. Duhalde was forced to act in his political turf because some of the regional leaders have been attracted by Mr. Menem promises.

Analysts believe President Duhalde's strategy for candidate Kirchner, (governor or the Patagonian province of Santa Cruz), is to defeat Mr. Menem by five points in the province of Buenos Aires and by ten points in the city of Buenos Aires, which theoretically should be enough. To achieve this objective Mr. Kirchner must prove to the faithful of the powerful ruling Justicialista Party that he's the party's candidate, which Mr. Duhalde believes it has been confirmed with his support, and in the second stage the Santa Cruz governor must concentrate in attracting those out of the party with a convincing display or policies and future collaborators.

With less than three weeks for the first round and just two candidates in the 20 points range (Mr. Kirchner and Mr. Menem), convincing the Justicialista Party of who will be their future boss and simultaneously wooing independents has become crucial for this election.

Convincing a skeptical Argentine electorate that a splintered Justicialista ruling party, normally completely vertical and for the first time running a presidential election with three candidates, can effectively address the future of Argentina has become the greatest challenge. Crossed fingers in Buenos Aires so that Argentina's next Justicialista government will have the sufficient and homogeneous Congressional support averting the bickering and in-fighting that has lately bogged the country.