CFK returning to work tomorrow

 President also confirms first public activity in Córdoba on Tuesday

President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner is scheduled resume her official agenda at Government House tomorrow according to official sources, while her presence at a rally in Córdoba province on Tuesday was also confirmed yesterday, which would be her first public activity following the death of her husband, former president Néstor Kirchner.
Media Deputy-Secretary Alfredo Scoccimarro confirmed yesterday Fernández de Kirchner will resume her official activities tomorrow while the Córdoba government announced later yesterday afternoon the President had confirmed her presence at the event.
On Friday, two days after Kirchner’s death, Interior Minister Florencio Randazzo stated “the President will get back to work very soon.”
Also yesterday, Labour Minister Carlos Tomada expressed his support for the idea of Fernández de Kirchner’s re-election bid next year, in line with recent statements byForeign Minister Héctor Timerman.
Fernández de Kirchner spent the night in Río Gallegos, Santa Cruz province, after the remains of her husband were taken to the local cemetery, and travelled to her residency at El Calafate after the coffin was placed in the Kirchner’s family vault yesterday morning.
The President was joined by her children, Máximo and Florencia, at a house in the Barrio Jardín neighbourhood, where her late husband planned to have his legal address changed to.

Fernández de Kirchner had suspended her official agenda for 48 hours last Monday due to an angina before the sudden death of her husband on Wednesday.
Kirchner’s burial was initially scheduled for Friday night, but official sources confirmed his coffin was placed in his family vault yesterday morning as the wake held at the Río Gallegos cemetery extended overnight due to the large number of people that went to the cemetery to pay their last respects to the former president.
The remains of Kirchner, 60, will remain in the crypt, owned by his cousin Carlos Kirchner, until the construction of a new family vault is finished.
On Friday night, Fernández de Kirchner thanked Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and the members of the cabinet who travelled to Santa Cruz for the funeral.

The President headed the official ceremonies following the death of her husband and is scheduled to return to Buenos Aires tomorrow morning to resume her activities.
Yesterday, the pro-government sectors of the Peronist party — which Kirchner headed at the time of his death — confirmed their support for the administration of Fernández de Kirchner and considered the President is “the political boss” and the “best representative figure” of the party, which is formally headed by Buenos Aires Governor Daniel Scioli following Kirchner’s death.
Deputy Agustín Rossi, the head of the ruling party caucus in the Lower House, said “it is clear” that the President “is our boss.” However, asked about the statements of Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman who said Fernández de Kirchner will run for re-election next year, Rossi stated “it is not the time” to evaluate such a decision.
San Juan Governor José Luis Gioja agreed with Rossi as he considered as “inopportune” the statements by Timerman while he did not rule out the possibility of a reunification of the Peronist party as stated by Hugo Moyano, the head of the CGT union umbrella group.
Scioli is scheduled to meet with Peronist mayors and party authorities tomorrow to “honour the commitment of Néstor Kirchner with Buenos Aires province,” according to government sources.
The Buenos Aires Governor also praised the “maturity of the CGT and (local) businessmen,” who resumed talks following the death of Kirchner and confirmed the suspension of the CGT-sponsored profit distribution bill which was introduced by Deputy Héctor Recalde in Congress.
“I praise the maturity of the businessmen and the CGT,” said Scioli. “We have a big challenge ahead of us to continue the path of growth,” he added.

Opposition calls to ‘defend institutions’

Officials confirm support for CFK government but voice criticism

Opposition figures from different parties agreed yesterday on the importance of “defending the institutions” after the death of former president Néstor Kirchner and confirmed their support for President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner to stay in office until the elections of 2011 — although they confirmed their criticism toward the government — amid the power struggle which is likely to beunleashed due to the political void left behind by the head of the Peronist Party.
Left-wing Proyecto Sur leader and Lower House Deputy Fernando Pino Solanas called for anti-Kirchnerites to “help the country recover” and said he did not know how the ruling party would “resolve the void” left by the former president.
Since Kirchner’s death from a heart attack on Wednesday, the majority of the opposition kept a low profile and made cautious and respectful statements, avoiding any predictions about the political future of the country following the news of Kirchner’s death. However, many opposition figures began to refer to the probable political situation in the near future yesterday.
Radical Deputy Ricardo Alfonsín stated he does not believe “any major changes will be seen in the ruling party or the opposition” and also expressed his doubts about a possible reunification of the Peronist party — currently divided between pro-government and dissident factions — as suggested by CGT union umbrella group leader Hugo Moyano, a close ally to the late former president.
“We are not willing to generate conditions to achieve that rapprochement,” said Alfonsín, one of the two possible presidential candidates of the Radical Party along with Vice-President Julio Cobos. The son of the late former president Raúl Alfonsín also stated his party “will continue with the same (political) position as always” and insisted the Radical Party “does not change its opinions and considerations” about the national government.
However, Radical Party chairman Ernesto Sanz had a more conciliatory stance and said he hoped “the country can modify its confrontation agenda.”
On Thursday, a delegation of the Civic Coalition visited Government House to express their condolences to the President and her family, although coalition leader Elisa Carrió did not attend, neither did she make any public statement of condolences for the Kirchner family.
Civic Coalition Deputy Adrián Pérez tried to defend the attitude of the lawmaker yesterday and considered “absolutely hypocritical and harmful” the gesture by several opposition leaders who had voiced strong criticism against Kirchner and changed their attitude after his death.
Although Pérez did not made any particular reference, his statements seemed directed at Cobos, who had been at odds with the government since the farm sector protests in 2008 but referred to Kirchner as “a great president” after his death.
“That’s absolutely hypocritical and harmful, you can’t be a critic and all of a sudden praise (the government)” said Pérez. “There have been officials who had that attitude and I find it absolutely wrong, almost speculative,” he added.
Meanwhile, Solanas insisted on the importance of “defending the institutions” and expressed his concern on “how to resolve the void left by a man who covered so many fronts,” although he stated he was “not underestimating or denying the capacity of the President.”
However, Solanas also criticized the government for “the way they have handled the Congress and how they have distorted the institutional life of the country,” which he considered “unacceptable.”
“We cannot continue on this road,” said the filmmaker. “Congress had worked to 30 or 40 percent of its capacity,” he added.