Argentina presidential hopefuls ready for tough run-off

The chosen successor of Argentina's Kirchner dynasty, Daniel Scioli, readied Monday for a tough fight with conservative rival Mauricio Macri as election results showed the pair heading neck-and-neck into the country's first-ever presidential run-off.

Scioli entered Sunday's first-round vote with a comfortable lead in the opinion polls, but in a blow to outgoing President Cristina Kirchner, he emerged just barely ahead of Macri -- 36.9 percent to 34.3 percent, with nearly all polling stations reporting.

The surprise result gives momentum to business favorite Macri as the battle begins for the November 22 run-off, and he lost no time seeking to capitalize on it Monday.
"This is the start of a new era," the 56-year-old Buenos Aires mayor told a press conference, saying he was "surprised and excited" by the results.

The race turns the page on 12 years under Kirchner and her late husband Nestor.

Scioli, the governor of Buenos Aires province, has pledged to uphold the core of "kirchnerism" -- a movement marked by trade protectionism, social welfare and defense of the working class.

However, the 58-year-old powerboating fanatic -- who lost his right arm in a 1989 racing accident -- has also promised a change in style to attract more investment and revive the flagging economy, Latin America's third-largest after Brazil and Mexico.
Macri for his part has vowed to start dismantling the Kirchners' legacy on day one.

Political analysts said his strong showing gave a major boost to calls for change.

"Even though it lost by the numbers, Let's Change (Macri's coalition) was really the winner. This could trigger a wave of votes in Macri's favor," said sociologist Ricardo Rouvier, who heads a local consulting firm.

"The big winner is the candidate who came in second," said political analyst Rosendo Fraga.

- Kingmaker? -

 Under Argentine electoral law, in order to win outright, a candidate must claim more than 45 percent of the vote in the first round, or at least 40 percent with a margin of 10 percentage points over the runner-up.

Opinion polls had put Scioli close to the magic numbers, with around 40 percent of the vote and about eight points clear of Macri.

But he fell well shy of that on voting day, and even trailed Macri in the early count.

Former Kirchner ally Sergio Massa, who broke with the president and launched a rival party two years ago, threw a wrench into the race: he came in third with 21.3 percent.
The top two candidates immediately began chasing his votes.

"I call on all undecided and independent voters to bring a victory for all Argentines," Scioli said Sunday night in a speech to thousands of supporters, some of whom left his campaign headquarters in tears over the disappointing results.

- Tough night for 'kirchnerism'

It was a tough night for "kirchnerism" at the ballot box.

The president's cabinet chief, Anibal Fernandez, lost the race for the powerful post of Buenos Aires governor -- Scioli's current job -- to Maria Eugenia Vidal, the candidate of Macri's Let's Change coalition.

The Kirchner family did however rack up victories in its southern stronghold of Santa Cruz, where the president's son Maximo, 38, was elected to Congress and her sister-in-law Alicia, 69, won the governorship.
Nestor Kirchner came to office in 2003, in the aftermath of a devastating economic crisis that triggered what was then the largest sovereign debt default in history.

He presided over a stunning turnaround underpinned by average economic growth of more than eight percent a year.

He handed power to his wife in 2007. They were widely expected to continue their term-for-term tango, but Nestor died of a heart attack in 2010.

Cristina, a fiery former senator known for her combative style, won re-election in 2011 and at 62 has now served the constitutional limit of two consecutive terms.

But the economic magic of the early Kirchner years has faded.

The next president will inherit an economy troubled by double-digit inflation, an overvalued currency and what the International Monetary Fund predicts will be a 0.7 percent contraction next year.

Source: AFP