Argentina’s Presidential Front-Runner Goes Global

The United States is not the only country contemplating the candidacy of a recent president’s wife. In Argentina, first lady and presidential frontrunner Cristina Fernández de Kirchner powers through the final leg of her campaign, largely run outside of Argentina. In the wake of massive economic collapse in 2001, her husband turned his attention inward to address enormous debt and widespread unemployment at home, often at the expense of diplomatic ties. By some measures his focus on domestic matters restored economic stability, and there can be no question that the first lady owes much of her success in the polls to her husband’s achievements. But Cristina Fernández de Kirchner is making a symbolic break with her husband’s style, and perhaps policy, by courting international investors and allies, which prompts many to worry about the Kirchner family’s commitment to domestic issues. The sticking point of the campaign has been a refusal to admit what the populace perceives as a grave error, the government’s failure to address the problem of inflation. The Kirchner campaign and Hillary Clinton’s US presidential campaign share two characteristics: marriage ties to recent heads of state and difficulties in establishing foreign-policy positions popular among constitutents. These speak to a new political era in which a candidate can no longer expect to be critiqued solely on his or her own merits. “Own” is not a word easily defined in a globalizing world. – YaleGlobal