Rossi says he would consider running for president

Chief of Staff said he’d do so as long as it’s “positive” for his coalition

President Alberto Fernández’s Chief of Staff Agustín Rossi said on a radio show this morning that he would consider running for president this year if he gets the support of his fellow members of ruling coalition Frente de Todos, although he added that the decision was not entirely up to him. 

Rossi, a longtime Peronist politician who has served in various roles throughout his career, was appointed this year to serve as Alberto Fernández’s Chief of Staff. 

The president has indicated – unusually, for a sitting head of state – that he would be willing to compete against his coalition-mates in primary elections, although faced with direct questions about whether he will run, he has remained deliberately evasive.

“I can’t make any decisions by myself, the President should decide if he will be a candidate or not – if he does, I’ll support his bid. But if he doesn’t, I’ll look at the possibility of running, if that’s something positive for the coalition,” he told Futurock, adding that he didn’t know when Fernández is planning to confirm his position in the 2023 elections. 

Rossi added that he is hopeful that his coalition is the only one so far with a place secured in a potential runoff in November 2023. A candidate needs 1.5% of the vote in the primaries to make it onto the general election ballot. 

To win the presidential elections, they need either 45% of the vote, or 40% with a lead of at least 10 percentage points over the second-placed candidate. If neither of these conditions are met, the top two go to a second round. 

His comments come the day after Chief Presidential Advisor Antonio Aracre resigned  just over two months into the job, saying in a tweet that he was leaving “in order to deactivate any scheme that aims to disturb the markets.” The consequences of the move, which shook government and markets alike, remain to be seen.

The Peronist Justicialist Party (Partido Justicialista) will hold a meeting on Friday, and announcements about the FdT’s potential electoral tickets are expected. No further statements on the matter have been made by Casa Rosada representatives. 

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