Pundits began writing Cristina Fernandez's political obituary just eight months after she became Argentina's president in 2007. She squandered the popularity she had inherited from her husband and predecessor, Nestor Kirchner, by picking and losing an ill-advised fight with farmers over export taxes. Then the world financial crisis abruptly halted the country's economic boom, even as inflation eroded workers' purchasing power. After years of unquestioned authority, the Kirchners suffered an embarrassing defeat in a midterm election last June. Not only did their Peronist party lose its congressional majority, but its list of candidates in Buenos Aires province-home to almost two-fifths of the electorate-led by Mr Kirchner himself, finished second. He promptly submitted his "irrevocable" resignation as party leader.
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