
The European Union said it hopes the election of a centre-right government in Argentina will give new impetus to stalled talks on a free trade pact with Mercosur, the Latin American bloc.

The British government reaffirmed its support for the Falkland Islands and its right to self determination as part of the recently announced Strategic Defense and Security review 2015, which pledges an extra increase £12bn of spending on defense equipment - part of London's £178bn overall defense equipment and support budget during the next decade.

A Falklands/Malvinas link has emerged from the naming of Susana Malcorra as Argentine president-elect Mauricio Macri Foreign minister. According to reports in the Buenos Aires media, UN's Ban Ki-moon Secretary General cabinet chief is not the only outstanding Argentine national working for the UN in particularly sensitive issues such as Disarmament Affairs.

United States President Barack Obama congratulated Argentine president-elect Mauricio Macri on his victory in the runoff in a phone call, according to a brief release from the White House.

Brazilian banks which follow closely events in Argentina and prospects of the new government under president Mauricio Macri, believe the official exchange rate of 9.67 Pesos to the dollar will inevitably have to be devalued, to 12 Pesos by the end of the year, which means a 24% depreciation.

Falkland Islands lawmakers have reacted with caution and expectation to the election of Mauricio Macri, ex Buenos Aires mayor, as Argentina's next president. He will succeed on 10 December Cristina Fernandez and twelve years of rough relations with Kirchnerism and constant intimidation.

Britain's David Cameron and Argentina's president-elect Mauricio Macri agreed to “strengthen relations” and “to pursue a path of open dialogue” between their countries after a phone call Thursday, Downing Street said.

Argentina's president-elect Mauricio Macri has named US-educated bankers and big business executives to key posts in a cabinet he vows will revive the economy, officials and media reports said Wednesday. Budget and finance minister Alfonso Prat-Gay, 50, an economist trained at Pennsylvania University and former Wall Street banker, was announced by Macri's designated chief of staff Marcos Peña.

Argentine president Cristina Fernandez made on Wednesday her first public appearance since Sunday's election runoff when opposition candidate Mauricio Macri was confirmed as the new head of state, and clearly anticipated she will continue in politics and pretends to conduct the Justicialista party, the country's hegemonic political force.

By Rengaraj Viswanathan (*) Mauricio Macri’s win will inspire the centre-right opposition parties that hope to replace leftist governments in Brazil and Venezuela but it is too early to declare, as some observers are doing, that the result marks the end of the Left in the region