WikiLeaks on Latin America: Clinton asks personal questions about Argentina’s Kirchners
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A secret U.S. diplomatic cable published by Wikileaks reveals requests by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on the mental health and decision-making style of Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.
The cable bearing Clinton’s name was dated Dec. 31, 2009, and sent to the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires. It asks:
How is Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner managing her nerves and anxiety? How does stress affect her behavior toward advisors and/or her decisionmaking? What steps does Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner or her advisers/handlers, take in helping her deal with stress? Is she taking any medications? Under what circumstances is she best able to handle stresses? How do Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner’s emotions affect her decisionmaking and how does she calm down when distressed?
The cable also inquires about the health and decision-making style of Nestor Kirchner, Fernandez’s husband and the former president. Nestor Kirchner died suddenly late last month. In the 2009 cable, questions then turn to the interpersonal dynamic between the two Kirchners.
‘How do Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and Nestor Kirchner divide up their day?’ it asks. ‘On which issues does Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner take the lead and which issues does she leave to Nestor Kirchner?’
Clinton made no direct reference to any specific leaked cables in statements she made on Monday at the State Department in Washington, and no statements in response to the leaked cable were reported Monday from Fernandez de Kirchner in Argentina.
-- Daniel Hernandez in Mexico City