3rd-place candidate Sergio Massa declines to endorse either man in Argentine presidential runoff
Last edited Sun Nov 8, 2015, 09:45 PM - Edit history (1)
Sergio Massa was seen as the kingmaker in Argentina’s approaching presidential election, with the power to influence more than a fifth of the electorate after taking third place in last month’s first round. But he announced his refusal to throw his weight behind either candidate now facing a run-off vote later this month — casting uncertainty over the outcome of a close race that will end 12 years of populist rule by Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and her late husband and predecessor, Néstor Kirchner.
Despite the congressman’s pivotal position, he is stepping back from the unpredictable contest between Mauricio Macri, the right-wing mayor of Buenos Aires, and Daniel Scioli, the government-backed governor of the Province of Buenos Aires. “There are 5 million kingmakers, not one,” said Massa in an interview with the Financial Times, referring to the voters that backed his candidacy. “To attempt to influence the run-off vote would be to mock their trust in me. I’m not planning to support either candidate.”
Whoever wins the run-off on November 22 will inherit an economy which, though growing, has a ballooning fiscal deficit, inflation of about 20%, and a ongoing shortage of access to global capital markets following Argentina’s 2001 default. But despite speculation that he might back the market-friendly Macri — whom many see as the favorite after his surprisingly strong showing in the first round — in return for ministerial positions for his supporters, Massa says this would be “absurd.”
Massa — former mayor of Tigre, a middle-class suburban district north of Buenos Aires — was President Fernández de Kirchner’s cabinet chief in 2008-09 before splitting from the government and forming the centrist Renewal Front party, which gained seats in the 2013 midterms.
Massa criticises what he says is a “campaign of fear” from both sides, with Macri’s camp warning (despite his numerous padded contract scandals as mayor) corruption will reign if he loses, while Scioli’s supporters claim Argentines will lose their social rights if his opponents take power. “Argentines must vote with hope, not fear,” says Massa.
The congressman, whose coalition controls 36 of 257 seats in the lower chamber of Congress, vows to play a central role in checking the power of the next administration, since neither Macri nor Scioli will have the majority needed in both houses to pass laws without third-party support.
At: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ec5f24b6-8391-11e5-8e80-1574112844fd.html#axzz3qve2LAWa
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This was a surprise to almost everyone (although not to me, I must admit). Though probably not decisive, this announcement is all in all good news for Scioli given that polls suggest that Massa's voters lean toward Macri (the Clarín effect, since Massa's voters, while not right-wing per sé, tend to rely heavily on Clarín and its cable news outfit, TN, for their news).
Conventional wisdom had it that Massa would surely endorse Macri because, while his policies are much closer to Scioli (they're both Peronists), Massa and (especially) his wife are known to harbor a seething personal grudge against the Kirchners for having fired him in 2009 (he had hoped to succeed Cristina Kirchner as president with their endorsement, and that basically put the kibosh on those hopes).
Massa, however, still wants to be president (and hey, why not), and privately he knows that if Macri takes office next month, and does so thanks to him, the economic calamity and riots that will almost certainly follow will make Massa - more than Macri, ironically - the most hated man in Argentina. On the other hand, if Scioli wins, and if Massa plays his cards right, Scioli would owe him - and that could mean endorsing Massa for President in 2023.
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We aim to please. 