Argentina has what the world wants — and may soon have a woman in charge

In Washington, the campaign to put another Clinton in the White House is well underway. In Argentina, the next president could also be the wife of a man who has held the highest office before. President Néstor Kirchner, who grabbed the top job four years ago after polling just 22 per cent of the vote in the first round against a discredited Carlos Menem, comes up for re-election in October. As the deadline for nominations approached, it was always certain that a Kirchner would run. But would it be the President or his wife Cristina? For months, rumours circulated that Kirchner, who is said to have health problems, might stand aside and allow his missus to go for the job. This being Argentina, where Perón and his two wives remain controversial figures, the idea of an attractive, politically savvy woman taking power has inevitably excited intense debate.

Well, now we know.