The surprise choice of Alberto Fernández to lead the presidential ticket alongside Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in 2018 was initially seen as a masterstroke by the former president. In the midst of a deep economic and political crisis that had the Mauricio Macri administration against the ropes, Fernández de Kirchner managed to select a moderate Peronist who could weave alliances throughout their political spectrum, including a majority of leading Peronists who had a very bad opinion of her. At the same time, the fact that Alberto had been very critical of Fernández de Kirchner, and close to the newspaper, converted him into the perfect antidote in the face of the fiery anti-Kirchnerite crowd who voted Macri into the Casa Rosada a few years earlier but ended up deeply disillusioned with him.
Early into his Presidency, Alberto Fernández became extremely popular, as the global Covid-19 pandemic hit. He was quick to take the centre of the political stage, while Cristina lauded his young Economy Minister Martín Guzmán. But it didn’t take long for things to go downhill for the Fernández-Fernández tandem, with the then-vice-president quickly distancing herself from the president, essentially denying that she was part of the administration despite being its second-in-command.
As things went from bad to worse, Alberto was even shoved to the side, with day-to-day operations and the Peronist presidential candidacy handed over to Economy Minister Sergio Massa. It b.