Ignacio Ortelli
07/20/2021 2:42 PM
Clarín.com
Politics
Updated 07/20/2021 2:54 PM
Four days before the closing of lists, a story with an uncertain ending is being written in the Frente de Todos. In the midst of internals and versions, different names go up and down with concrete chances of integrating the list for the STEP, but the certainties are still not abundant. So much so that there is no one who dares to rule out that there is no room for a cover. At the end,
Alberto Fernández and Cristina Kirchner have a pending talk
in which they will review the names that were approached from different sectors, they will put theirs on the table and they will define who will be the head of the ballot for Deputies.
As
Clarín
said
last week, the intention of the vice president and the head of the Chamber of Deputies, Sergio Massa, the third link in the front-to-dista triad, is
for Alberto F. to put a name that he can consider "his own" in front
, with the objective of empowering the president again and relaunching the management. But although he has his favorites,
the head of state wants him to be a figure with consensus
, to be an exponent of the unity of the ruling coalition and, above all, not to generate more noise and injuries than is usually left by a closing of lists.
With absolute veto power,
Cristina still did not give signals and that also generates concern
. Neither did Massa, who stayed on the sidelines when the name of
Malena Galmarini
, his partner and current AySA head, resounded, and he would not put too many objections to Fernández's choice, except in some extreme cases. It seems not necessary: although he is one of those who measure the most, no one, not even the harsh Kirchnerism, thought of the Buenos Aires Minister of Security,
Sergio Berni
, who was in charge of doing his part not to be a candidate and after a year and a half of fierce criticism of Alberto F. and assured that
the Government "lacks management
.
"
First among the candidates that sound the most, appears the head of the National Council of Social Policies,
Victoria Tolosa Paz
, Fernández's favorite. Then there are three national ministers: the Chief of Cabinet,
Santiago Cafiero
, whom Fernández refuses to hand over at the request of a sector of hard-line Kirchnerism and massistas; and two other key players during the pandemic,
Gabriel Katopodis
(Public Works) and
Daniel Arroyo
(Social Development).
There is also a batch of mayors, such as
Martín Insaurralde
(Lomas de Zamora),
Leonardo Nardini
(Malvinas Argentinas),
Mariano Cascallares
(Almirante Brown), Alberto Descalzo (Ituzaingó) and
Ariel Sujarchuk
(Escobar), and even the Buenos Aires Vice Minister of Health, Nicolás Kreplak, leader of La Cámpora, weighed not only in the government of Axel Kicillof but also in the Casa Rosada.
Here's why each's shares go up and down:
Cabinet
Victoria Tolosa Paz
Victoria Tolosa Paz with her husband, José "Pepe" Albistur.
In favor: He
has an excellent relationship with Fernández, who can consider it his own. At the same time, Cristina was heard praising her performance in non-official media, where she achieves a balance between sharp responses and a conciliatory tone. "He put his face on during the pandemic when half the Cabinet was in hiding," recalls an official with an office in the Casa Rosada. He is also a partner of publicist Enrique “Pepe” Albistur, Kirchner's former media secretary, which guarantees additional media firepower.
Against:
His high profile made him win some internal enemies in the Cabinet, where criticism of his decision to go to the media was heard while the Government wanted to order the speech.
In addition, a sector of hard Kirchnerism does not want it: there are still remnants of the internal La Plata.
Santiago Cafiero
The Chief of Cabinet, Santiago Cafiero, during his presentation in the Senate
In favor: He
is the man who best interprets the President, “Alberto's alter ego”, as defined by someone from the presidential kidney, and -although for other reasons- he is the name requested from Kirchnerism and Massism.
His candidacy and eventual triumph in the Province would empower the management and could serve to reinstall Fernández in the race for 2023.
Against:
Alberto F. does not want to "hand it over" and has already said that it is essential to carry out the management.
He knows that they want to "remove him from above" to intervene the Cabinet.
His departure, and the possibility of a defeat, could represent a knockout blow for a President with two years to go.
Gabriel Katopodis
Gabriel Katopodis.
Photo Federico López Claro.
In favor: He
is one of the ministers with the best image and management to show, used to fighting in the media. If Fernández had allowed to create albertism, he would probably integrate it, but he also maintains an excellent relationship with Massa and does not arouse anger among the K. The bonus point: in use of license in San Martín, it would be celebrated by -sus until December 2019- mayors peers. Close to him they say that he wants to continue in Public Works, but that "he is going to do what Alberto and Cristina ask him to do."
Against:
Fernández has already anointed him, together with the Minister of the Interior, Eduardo “Wado” de Pedro, as the territorial reference for governors and mayors in the national campaign.
His going to Congress would force the reconfiguration of that assembly and would be a sensitive loss in a Cabinet in which there are no lights and officials who "work".
Daniel Arroyo placeholder image
Daniel Arroyo, Minister of Social Development.
In favor:
You can count the social investment made by the Government during the pandemic, key for vulnerable sectors in Buenos Aires territory.
With a past in the massismo, but today aligned closer to Fernández, he would not look down on being a deputy again.
"If they tell him to go, go", they say in the Ministry of Social Development, where in 20 months of management he suffered all kinds of operations resulting from the subdivision.
Against:
Reluctant to confrontation, his actions fall to battle against the candidates of Together for Change, Diego Santilli and Facundo Manes.
"It can serve to complement a list, rather than to top it," says a voice familiar with the President's preference.
Intendants
Martín Insaurralde (Lomas de Zamora)
Martín Insaurralde, mayor of Lomas de Zamora.
In favor:
His level of knowledge is high.
He was Cristina's candidate in 2013 and, although he later flirted with leaving Kirchnerism, he plays in tandem with the head of the block of Deputies, Máximo Kirchner.
Against:
He does not want to be a candidate.
He generates suspicion in some of his peers and there are those in Kirchnerism who do not forgive him for having threatened to leave space and follow in the footsteps of Massa, his winner in 2013, to launch into their own space.
His candidacy, without a Kicillof presidential project for 2023, could generate more internal noise.
Leonardo Nardini (Malvinas Argentinas), Mariano Cascallares (Almirante Brown), Alberto Descalzo (Ituzaingó) and Ariel Sujarchuk (Escobar)
In favor:
They have high levels of management approval in their districts and the three forged a good relationship with the Casa Rosada and do not generate internal noise.
Against:
Low knowledge is a problem for a campaign that will be shorter and with few face-to-face events.
A camper
Nicolas Kreplak
Nicolas Kreplak.
In favor:
A reference of La Cámpora in health matters and of extreme confidence in Cristina (she applied the first dose of Sputnik V), he is also weighed by Fernández.
He played a key role in the beginning of negotiations with Russia to obtain vaccines and his role during the pandemic, beyond some crossing with the City, left him more triumphs than defeats and a high level of knowledge.
Against:
Despite the fact that he does not garner rivals in the national Cabinet and that he was publicly praised by Fernández, his candidacy would inevitably be seen as a new advance on the power of the President.
He has not given debates outside his specialty, health, and with the vaccination campaign already advanced, the opposition seems to be heading to seek to install other issues.