MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Bielsa: “I'm not tied to the cabinet chair”

Argentine Foreign Affairs minister Rafael Bielsa defended his right to remain in the cabinet post while campaigning for a seat in the Lower House, although he also pointed out that he's “not tied to the chair”.

"I've always tried to act responsibly and if I understand there's an overlapping between my duties as minister and my activities as candidate, I'll be the first to report the incompatibility to the President", said Mr. Bielsa in New York.

Anyhow the minister underlined there are no "regulations" which can force him to leave the cabinet post and if "the President understands that the minister must remain, the minister can't contradict him".

He also had harsh words for his competitors who are also running for Congress for the seat of Buenos Aires and have attacked him for not leaving the cabinet post.

"These are intentional attacks, and with short memory. If I'm not wrong Mr. Lopez Murphy and Ms Elisa Carrio who belonged to the Radical party in 1989, didn't say a word against then Foreign Affairs minister Dante Caputto when he campaigned for a Congressional seat while holding his cabinet post", underlined Mr. Bielsa.

When asked about a possible name as successor, Mr. Bielsa simply replied that "foreign policy must be the bow of a national project".

In Buenos Aires Cabinet Chief Alberto Fernandez taunted conservative candidate Mauricio Macri suggesting he "takes seriously his job as president of Boca Juniors", Argentina's most popular football team that was involved in serious rioting after having lost a continental Cup qualification to a Mexican side.

Instead of worrying about minister Bielsa, "Mr. Macri should stop making nonsense suggestions and look after Boca, he's the club's president".

"The political campaign will involve no longer than two months and Mr. Bielsa can very well continue as he has being doing so far, with his responsibilities as minister", indicated Mr. Fernández.

He also attacked some of the other candidates competing for the city of Buenos Aires, "if they are currently out of a job, that doesn't mean Bielsa must resign as minister".

However speculation about Mr. Bielsa's successor continues and one of the leading political analysts of Argentina politics Joaquin Morales Solá advanced the name of current Ambassador in London, Federico Mirré, as the most serious candidate for the job.