Pichetto: 'There will be a lot of Peronism behind the president'

The senator and vice presidential candidate for Together for Change, Miguel Ángel Pichetto, met at noon with Peronist members of the government of President Mauricio Macri.

The lunch took place at the restaurant Los Platitos, located in Costanera Norte, and the official objective was to “formally welcome our colleague Pichetto.”

“It was a reunion with many colleagues and the first step in calling on others to join the proposition of national unity. There will be a lot of peronism behind president Mauricio Macri,” the senator said to the members of the media who had been waiting for him upon exiting.

The hopeful candidate of the ruling coalition also talked about the possibility of debating former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner: “If a debate is put on I think it could be interesting to talk with the former president and it could also help Argentina’s careful analysis of the vote.”

Pichetto appealed to the rift in the Argentine public and stated that "we are at a crossroads of history in which we can go back to the past, to a very dangerous Argentina, or to take the step towards modern capitalism", and referred to Axel Kicillof as the candidate who "has origins in the PC", in reference to the Communist party.

The warm reception of the national senator saw the participation of Interior Minister, Rogelio Frigerio, Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Emilio Monzó, the deputy Mayor of Buenos Aires City, Diego Santilli, the Cabinet Chief of Buenos Aires Province, Frederico Salvai, Deputy Silvia Lospenato and Buenos Aires Province Security Minister, Cristian Ritondo.

Santilli and Ritondo are the are two of the leading members of the so-called “peronist wing” of the PRO party. which was formed almost immediately after Mauricio Macri founded the party in 2007.

Monzó joined when Macri was already the head of the government and was one of the most important figures of the 2015 presidential campaign even though his strong ties with Renwal Front leader Sergio Massa led him to be marginalized from the government inner circle.

The barbeque with the leaders of the political wing of Macri’s team with Pichetto marks what could be the beginning of a new chapter for the government, one in which the Peronists among the Pro party win greater influence than in the past.

This reading of the situation, which began with Macri’s choice of running mate, is reinforced by the cabinet meeting this Thursday at which Pichetto was present.