MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Cristina and Nestor become Argentina’s most rejected political couple

Not so long ago, the happy days when the presidential baton when from husband to wife

The image of Argentina president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and her predecessor and husband Nestor Kirchner have plunged to an all time record low since they took office: 23% and 21% respectively, according to the latest public opinion poll published in the site of the Buenos Aires newspaper Critica.

According to pollster Poliarquía the rejection index of Cristina has climbed to 53% and that of her husband to 55%.

When Mrs. Kirchner took office in December 2007 she had an approval rating of 56% (and only 12% negative) while the outgoing president Nestor Kirchner, 65% and 12%.

“These are the lowest ratings since the couple took office (in 2003)” said Eduardo Fidanza one of the analysts from Poliarquía.

Mrs. Kirchner has only had a lower reading in June 2008, 20%, when the conflict with the farmers was at its peak.

Last June 28th when the mid term elections, the Kirchners lost the majority in both houses, although the new members of Congress will only take office next December 10.

However the coalition that defeated the Kirchners has been unable to take control of the political agenda because of internal disputes and “Argentina is moving into a complicated political scenario with fragmented power and a strong dispute as to how to order the future legislative agenda”, added Fidanza.

The two main coalitions made up of conservatives and dissidents from the ruling Peronist coalition, and middle of the road Radicales (the closest to Social democrats) includes several presidential hopefuls for 2011 and has fragmented loosing all immediate possibilities of presenting a united front.

This has left ample space for the Kirchners regained confidence and political initiative, which reflects in public opinion rejection.

The Poliarquía poll included 1.000 phone interviews in forty cities with over 10.000 inhabitants.

Another poll from the Torcuato Di Tella University which measures the Confidence Index in the government recorded in July the lowest under the Kirchner couple: 1.11 points out of a maximum of 5.

This also represents a record low and means a loss of 10% in the last thirty days.