The one on the left, not the one on the right. Early results from yesterday’s Argentinian presidential election show that current first lady Cristina Fernandez will be the next president. Fernandez will be Argentina’s first elected female head of state.
Fernandez is married to President Nestor Kirchner, who oversaw Argentina’s emergence from financial crisis. The challenge of her presidency will be to capitalize on the stability her husband’s term brought to the country.
Some are worried that a political dynasty, obviously already in place, could get out of control: Kirchner is eligible to take over at the end of his wife’s term in 2011. Argentina has a history of spousal politics. Juan Perón was president from 1946-1955 and 1973-1974. His second wife, the famous Eva Perón, almost ran for vice president in 1951, and his third wife, Isabel Perón, took over the presidency after her husband’s death. She was ousted in a military coup less that two years later.
