MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Kirchner-Duhalde: agreement or confrontation?

Peronist party leaders in the Buenos Aires province said that an agreement over candidacies for the October midterm election between President Néstor Kirchner and former interim president Eduardo Duhalde ought to be clinched “within the next eight to ten days”.

"If there's no agreement in eight to ten days, a confrontation will be unavoidable," an unidentified Peronist leader close to Duhalde told Télam state-run agency.

"We're at a turning point (...) Kirchner and Duhalde are the only ones who can fix this situation, with a face-to-face meeting," the source added.

Mr. Kirchner has said in the October election there will be a plebiscite on his administration and thus wants to personally appoint his candidates for each and every district. But Duhalde still controls the provincial branch of the ruling party and is reportedly reluctant to let Kirchner take charge.

"Under these circumstances an agreement is far-off, because Kirchner is waiting for Duhalde to call him and vice versa. They are very stubborn" a prominent, pro-Kirchner mayor from Greater Buenos Aires told Télam.

"The president has cornered Duhalde" the source told Télam, adding that Kirchner has now won over most Greater Buenos Aires mayors in order to strengthen his political project.

President Kirchner wants his wife, Senator Cristina Fernández, to run for senator in the province. But Mr. Duhalde's wife, Deputy Hilda "Chiche" González, wants the same seat. A poll released over the weekend indicated that Kirchner's wife, Senator Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, will win by a landslide in Argentina's largest electoral district if she eventually decides to run.

According to pollster Hugo Haime, if Mrs. Duhalde and Mrs. Kirchner run in two separate slates, the first lady would win 20% more votes than Mrs. Duhalde.

Mr. Haime added that if Mrs. Duhalde drops her bid "Cristina, heading the Peronist party ticket, will get about 50% of the votes in the Greater Buenos Aires.

"If ?Chiche' runs alone, she will also win, but she will get some 30% of the votes", the pollster said.

Furthermore, and according to Mr. Haime, if two separate Peronist slates run in October, the party will clinch all three seats in the Senate ? two for the majority and one for the minority. (Telam, Bs. As. Herald).-