Argentine Pres. Taps Wife for Nomination

By Associated Press

5:00 PM PDT, July 1, 2007

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — President Nestor Kirchner has tapped his wife take his place as the ruling coalition candidate in October presidential elections and will not immediately seek a second term, the government news agency said Sunday.

Telam, the official news agency, quoted the president's Cabinet chief as saying Kirchner's powerful wife, Sen. Cristina Fernandez, would be the leftist ruling coalition's candidate for the Oct. 28 vote.

Nestor Kirchner, who took office in May 2003, had for months said either he or his wife would run on behalf of the ruling Peronist coalition in the election.

Cabinet chief Alberto Fernandez told Telam that Cristina Fernandez would formally announce her candidacy July 19 in her home city of La Plata, the capital of Buenos Aires province and home to a quarter of the country's electorate.

Either Kirchner is seen in opinion polls as the heavy favorite for the balloting against a divided opposition.

Kirchner has overseen a recovery from a deep 2002 economic crisis as Argentina's economy began growing again -- by more than 8 percent annually for the past four years.

But Kirchner's support has dipped somewhat in recent months following an energy crisis, double-digit inflation, a public works corruption scandal and a Buenos Aires mayoral race in which an ally was roundly defeated.