VZCZCXYZ0016
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #2267/01 3331111
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 291111Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9793

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 002267 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM ECON AR
SUBJECT: Argentina: Kirchners Appoint Loyalists to 
Key Congressional Positions 
 
REF: BUENOS AIRES 2139 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY:  With the Ministers set, Cristina Fernandez de 
Kirchner (CFK) and her husband, outgoing President Nestor Kirchner 
(NK), are now filling key Congressional slots with loyalists. 
Sources close to the Kirchners have publicly revealed that Senate 
President Pro-Tempore Jose Pampuro, Senate Majority Leader Pichetto, 
and Chamber of Deputies Majority Leader Agustin Rossi will all 
retain their positions, and that former Governor and Kirchner ally 
Eduardo Fellner will take over as Speaker of the House on December 
¶10. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) In the Argentine government, the Congress does not provide 
many checks or balances on Executive power.  It does not exercise 
oversight or control the purse strings the way the U.S. Congress 
does, nor does it initiate much legislation.  (Most bills are 
proposed by the Executive Branch.)  That said, the Kirchners' 
Victory Front party (FPV) and allies' overwhelming victory in the 
October polls gave them huge majorities in both Houses of Congress, 
which virtually guarantees swift passage of legislation the 
Kirchners deem necessary.  The opposition is divided and already 
spending much of its time and energy in internecine squabbles. 
End Summary. 
 
------------------------------- 
CFK Has Strong Majorities in Both Houses 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The Kirchners' Victory Front Party (FPV) and allies' 
overwhelming victory in the October polls gave them substantial 
majorities in both Houses of Congress (reftel).  This will enable 
CFK to swiftly pass legislation she wishes to introduce, unlike her 
husband, who tended to rule by executive decree to spare himself the 
need to craft working majorities in the Argentine Congress. 
Although the final composition of the Congress has not yet been 
determined, preliminary information from the Congress indicates that 
the FPV and its allies will hold 51 seats in the Senate, which is 
more than the two-thirds super majority the Kirchners would need to 
pass constitutional amendments in the Senate, should they deem it 
necessary.  They would still have to negotiate with opposition 
parties in the Lower House, however, as the FPV, with 160 seats, is 
roughly 12 seats shy of a super majority.  Although ordinary 
legislation requires only a simple majority for passage, 
constitutional amendments can be approved only with a two-thirds 
super majority in both the Senate and the Chamber. 
 
------------------------------ 
Eduardo Fellner: New Speaker of the House 
------------------------------ 
 
¶4. (SBU) The majority-bloc Victory Front Party (FPV) informally 
named Deputy-elect Eduardo Fellner as the new Speaker of the House 
as of December 10, replacing Alberto Balestrini, who will become the 
new vice-Governor-elect for Buenos Aires province.  Deputy Carlos 
Kunkel, a close Kirchner confidant, stated in a radio interview that 
the appointment is assured, which would make Fellner third in line 
for the Presidency.  A lawyer by training, Fellner served as 
Governor of Jujuy province for the last eight years and has been 
both a national and provincial legislator. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Fellner has openly supported President Kirchner since 
¶2003.  He is considered a Kirchner loyalist who will act in 
accordance with the Casa Rosada's will.  For example, Fellner 
abandoned his intention to seek a third consecutive term as Jujuy 
governor after the Kirchners asked him not to run given widespread 
public opposition to reforming the provincial constitution that 
would have eliminated term limits.  The decision came in the wake of 
a Kirchner-backed referendum on the same issue that was defeated in 
the province of Misiones in October 2006. 
 
------------------------------------------- 
Pampuro, Pichetto, and Rossi to Stay in Key Positions... 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) In the same interview, Kunkel also revealed that current 
President Pro-Tempore Jose Pampuro would stay in his current 
position.  Pampuro is second in line for the Presidency after 
Vice-President Julio Cobos.  The FPV has also officially announced 
that Senator Miguel Angel Pichetto and Deputy Agustin Rossi would 
retain their positions as, respectively, Seante Majority Leader and 
Majority Leader in the Chamber of Deputies.  According to 
Congressional sources, Senator Pichetto will remain in his current 
position for one more year. 
 
------------------------------------------ 
...with Pampuro keeping an eye on VP Cobos 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶7. (SBU) Senator Pampuro was appointed as President Pro-Tempore in 
February 2006, after he won a Senate seat in the 2005 legislative 
elections.  Pampuro had previously served as Nestor Kirchner's 
Minister of Defense from May 2003 to October 2005, and was the Chief 
of Staff for former President Eduardo Duhalde, with whom he had a 
close personal relationship.  There is speculation that 
President-elect Cristina Kirchner wants Pampuro to monitor 
Vice-President-elect Julio Cobos in order to keep Cobos' political 
influence in check.  (Note:  Cobos is a "K-Radical", i.e., a member 
of the Radical party who has aligned himself with Cristina 
Kirchner.) 
 
------------------------------------ 
Civic Coalition is Largest Minority, But Can They Keep it Together? 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶8.  (SBU) The opposition Civic Coalition's (CC) relatively strong 
performance in recent congressional elections has enabled the party 
to establish itself as the largest minority in the Lower House. 
However, the recent departure of eight dissident ARI deputies from 
the coalition is putting the coalition's political cohesion, and 
possibly its position as the largest minority, at risk.  The dispute 
between ARI and the Civic Coalition began after Coalition 
Presidential Candidate Elisa Carrio decided to ally ARI, which is 
traditionally center-left, with center-right members of the "Union 
por Todos" party. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Although there have not been any official announcements 
yet as to who will head the coalition in each of the Chambers, the 
rumor mill indicates that Adrian Perez will be the CC's Minority 
Leader in the Chamber of Deputies and Senator-elect Maria Eugenia 
Estensoro will be the Minority Leader in the Senate.  ARI's current 
Minority leader Eduardo Macalusse will likely continue to lead the 
dissident ARI bloc.  In addition, it is believed that the 
Socialists, which are currently allied with the Civic Coalition, may 
form an individual bloc, with Elisa Carrio's running mate Ruben 
Giustiniani as Socialist party leader in the Senate. 
 
¶10. (SBU) The Radical party's poor performance in the October 
elections resulted in the party likely losing its position as the 
largest opposition party in the Chamber of Deputies, if the Civic 
Coalition is able to keep its members together.  The Radical party 
has announced that Deputy Oscar Aguad will replace Fernando Chironi 
on December 10 as Minority Leader for the Radicals in the Chamber of 
Deputies.  Senator Ernesto Sanz will retain his position as Senate 
Minority Leader for the Radicals. 
 
----------------------------------- 
K Loyalists to Head Key Budget and Constitutional Affairs 
Committees 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶11. (SBU) The press has reported that Cristina Kirchner has also 
decided that Senator Roberto Urquia will head the strategic Budget 
Committee, replacing outgoing Senator and Chaco Governor-elect Jorge 
Capitanich.  Although Urquia won a Deputy seat in the October 
elections, he will not take up the position in order to complete his 
remaining two years in the Senate.  An oil businessman from Cordoba, 
Urquia maintains a good relationship with industry and has CFK's 
trust.  Previously, he served as mayor of General Deheza in Cordoba 
province for three terms, and has also served in the Cordoba Senate 
and the National Congress. 
 
¶12. (SBU)  It has also been reported that Senator Nicolas Fernandez 
will replace CFK as chair of the Constitutional Affairs Committee, 
despite FPV Majority Leader Miguel Pichetto's rumored efforts to 
convince CFK that current Vice-Chairman Senator Marcelo Guinle 
should replace her.  He was most recently head of the General 
Legislation Committee, and has been described as a man of 
unconditional loyalty to the Kirchners.  Fernandez is a lawyer by 
training and was born in Puerto Deseado, Santa Cruz province.  He 
has served as an advisor to the main oil and gas labor unions in 
Santa Cruz and maintains good ties with the unions. 
 
----------------------------- 
Rumors Abound for Other Top Senate Spots, Deputies Undefined 
----------------------------- 
 
¶13. (SBU) Our sources in the Congress have indicated that CFK is 
considering San Luis Senator Daniel Persico as head of the 
Infrastructure Committee and Formosa Senator Adriana Bortolozzi de 
Bogado for the General Legislation Committee.  The Radicals will try 
to retain the chair in the Labor Committee, Rights and Securities 
Committee, and Trade and Industry Committee, but nothing has been 
confirmed thus far. 
Our sources say they do not have any information on who will head 
key committees in the Lower House as of December 10. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶14. (SBU) Over the last four years, the Kirchners have methodically 
worked to consolidate power, culminating in huge FPV victories in 
the October elections.  Political analysts have reported that the 
Kirchners have personally identified who would head key 
 
Congressional committees, with CFK filling in the key slots for the 
Senate, and Nestor Kirchner taking the Chamber of Deputies.  So far, 
they have opted to appoint loyalists whom they trust will report 
directly to them and help them implement the vaguely-defined "K 
agenda."  The Kirchners' lock on Congress virtually guarantees swift 
passage of legislation (and places them in a strong position to pass 
any Constitutional amendments) that the first couple deems 
necessary.  Now, more than ever, it seems that the legislative 
agenda will be controlled by the Kirchners and a small inner circle 
of advisors.  END COMMENT. 
 
WAYNE