Alberto Fernandez carried out a coup of sorts. The mediator and confidant of the president, who was little known outside of Argentine political circles a year ago, today became the head of the third largest economy in Latin America.
The moderate Peronist, a fan of Bob Dylan, after whom he named his black and white shepherd dog, now has to carry out an even more difficult maneuver in a country rocked by inflation and a lack of economic growth.
Fernandez, a university professor who defeated conservative Mauricio Macri in October's election, was sworn in yesterday in a meteoric rise after being nominated as a candidate by former president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner in May.
"We know that we have a narrow, complex and demanding path ahead of us, in which there is no room for magical dogmas or sectarian conflicts," Fernandez said in his address to Congress.
People who know Fernandez say the negotiating skills he has acquired over the years as a political operative will be crucial to his performance.
"He is an intelligent man, educated, a good listener, he conducts a dialogue and defends his positions," former foreign minister Jorge Taiana, who worked with the 2003-year-old Fernandez from 2008 to 60, told Reuters. "He never had dogmatic views".
Fernandez's flexibility helped unite the dry Peronist political grouping, and his image as a gentle man of the people attracted moderate voters worried about the return of the divisive Fernandez de Kirchner.
Until recently, he supervised exams at the University of Buenos Aires, where he teaches.
One of the indicators of his chameleon-like adaptability is the fact that Fernandez was a representative of the neoliberal party, a Peronist head of the cabinet and a member of the Radical Civic Union in the 1980s.
The diversity of his personality is also maintained in his musical taste, according to Reuters. Behind the mustache and suit worn by this law professor, hides a musician and rock lover who picks up the guitar whenever Argentine politics allows him to.
"He's addicted to music, a very cultured guy," said Argentinian rock pioneer Lito Nebia, Fernandez's idol and later friend.
When asked about ideological influences, Fernandez said in a radio interview that he was influenced by political thinkers such as former president Juan Peron, the ideological father of Peronism, as well as a number of South American and North American musicians.
"There's a lot of Nebi, Bob Dylan, John Baez," said Fernandez, who as a 16-year-old teenager grew a mustache in honor of Nebi and took guitar lessons with him.
The big question for many - investors, farmers and voters - is how true a Peronist he is. Many fear that he could only be a puppet for more extreme "Kirchnerist" views, while some worry that he is not Peronist enough.
Peronism is a broad political movement that spans the political spectrum, but is based on the idea of "social justice."
"I don't like it. He is not a true Peronist. Alberto's economy is neoliberal," said Guillermo Moreno, a former trade secretary who worked with Fernandez for years, earlier this year.
Fernandez, who grew up in a family of lawyers, worked for years in Peronism. He was the head of the cabinet during the reign of the Kirschner couple.
Fernandez is also a fanatical fan of Argenitinos Juniors, whose stadium is a few blocks from the house where he grew up in Buenos Aires.
His relationship with Cristina Fernandez Kirschner, who was named vice president, is also complex. He harshly criticized her when her administration introduced populist policies including currency controls as well as restrictions and taxes imposed on agricultural imports.
Despite their differences, they reconciled last year and used their differences to enter the Casa Rosada presidential palace. The question is whether it will last.
Until the mid-term elections in 2021, there will be no problems, the alliance will survive. However, I don't know what will happen in 2023, when there are new parliamentary elections," a source close to Christina Fernandez de Kirchner told Reuters.
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