MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
British media praise for President Kirchner
Argentina's President Nestor Kirchner has been highly praised in the British Press for his swift, decisive, unexpected policies since taking office.
An article in the prestigious Times Newspaper headlined "Super K plays a daring game with Argentine reform", says that instead of building his power base slowly and cautiously before tackling Argentina's problems, President Kirchner has moved swiftly against some of the most corrupt elements of Argentine society, taking on institutions and men the public thought were untouchable. His targets so far include big business, Supreme Court judges tainted by their role in the corrupt rule of former President Menem, union bosses known as "the fat ones", and the police force.
The article, written by reporter Tom Hennigan, says that President Kirchner, using the element of surprise has caught his enemies off guard and left even his nominal allies struggling to keep up as he leads his popular campaign to end what he calls Argentina's "culture of impunity".
"Lame Duck" becomes "Super K" When elected, his enemies branded him "a lame duck" and predicted he would quickly fall, but instead he is known as "Super K" and his approach to government is referred to the "K style". The article says one Argentine columnist wrote: "Kirchner plays his political cards like a poker player who has swallowed a bottle of amphetamines".
The article says that corrupt police officers, protected by their superiors, have long been suspected of involvement in the country's crime wave. Now, they are being investigated for their roles in recent kidnappings and police chiefs are being sacked for holding unexplained offshore bank accounts. "Senor Kirchner, the article continues," is also hoping to account at last for the darkest moments in the country's recent past, lifting a ban on the extradition of former military officers wanted abroad for the killing of foreign nationals during the military dictatorship of 1976 to 1983.
Action against "Dirty War" officers "His ultimate goal is the repeal of the amnesty laws that protect the former officers from trials in Argentina for their part in the disappearance of up to 30,000 people during the ?Dirty War'".
All this, the article declares, has raised expectations of real change among human rights groups such as the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo, who have long sought information on their missing loved ones.
It quotes a leader of the Grandmothers, Rosa Roisinblit, as saying:"We see an opening which, if things go well, will lead to an end to impunity and corruption. This is not only in relation to the disappearance of our children and grandchildren but all types of impunity and corruption that exist in the country".
The result of this new sense of hope is that Kirchner is soaring in the opinion polls. The article points out that Kirchner, on his recent visit to the United Kingdom, also lectured Tony Blair about Argentina's sovereignty claim to the Falkland Islands. In France, he refused to meet heads of companies that have invested heavily in Argentina. And in Spain he criticised business leaders for what he called their "excessive profits" during Menem's presidency.
The article says that for all his early successes, Kirchner remains a puzzle to Argentines, appearing to be an "austere policy wonk", in contrast to "flash, perma-tanned men in the mould of Senor Menem who have dominated Argentina's politics".
Real changes needed He keeps his confidences to a small inner circle, including his glamorous wife, Cristina, and his sister, Alicia, in charge of the social welfare ministry.
The newspaper says that being an unknown quantity has helped Kirchner so far, but most analysts warn that two months in power is far too early to judge whether he really is about to change the country.
The article quotes the director of the local branch of Transparency International, Carlos March, as saying: "Argentina needs more than a few new faces. Its entire system needs reform. We will have to wait at least six months before we know if we are seeing real reform or just a new lick of paint on the same old rotten building".
And President Kirchner has yet to face his biggest challenge of restarting foreign debt payments. Painful structural reforms demanded by the International Monetary Fund for its help would pose serious challenges to Kirchner's popularity with the general public and his own Peronist party.
This is some of the most positive media publicity an Argentine President has received in Britain for years.
Harold Briley, London
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