Buenos Aires -
US State Department cables revealed by WikiLeaks that questioned Argentine President Cristina Kirchner's mental health were “shameful”, Argentine Economy Minister Amado Boudou said.
“It's shameful for the United States, not for Argentina, that this was seen as a problem, as we can see in these cables,” he told state television late on Tuesday.
Boudou was referring to secret diplomatic cables sent by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last year to the US embassy in Buenos Aires asking about how Kirchner was coping psychologically in office.
It was the first high-level reaction from within Argentina's government to the cables.
“How is Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner managing her nerves and anxiety?” Clinton asked in one cable dated December 31 2009 and released by WikiLeaks, a whistle-blowing website operating internationally, outside of US jurisdiction.
“How does stress affect her behaviour toward advisers and/or her decision making?” the cable continued.
“What steps does Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner or her advisers/handlers, take in helping her deal with stress? Is she taking any medications?”
The interrogations, made on New Year's Eve, suggested Clinton was worried about Kirchner's mental stability.
After enduring rocky relations during the presidency of Kirchner's predecessor and late husband, Nestor Kirchner, Washington reached out to Cristina Kirchner after she was elected in late 2007.
But the overture appeared to have been in vain, with Kirchner showing more sympathy to one of the United States' biggest antagonists in Latin America, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
Clinton's cables also asked about the mindset of Nestor Kirchner - who played a big behind-the-scenes role in his wife's government until he died of a heart attack on October 27 - and its influence on Cristina Kirchner.
Does the current president see “circumstances in black and white or in nuanced terms?” one cable asked.
An earlier cable, dated 20 November 2009 and sent from the US embassy to Clinton, quoted a former Kirchner cabinet chief, Sergio Massa, telling embassy officials that Nestor Kirchner was a “monster” and a “psychopath”.
Massa was quoted telling the US deputy ambassador that Nestor Kirchner had been looking to run for the presidency in 2011, but that he and Cristina Kirchner had “zero” chances of holding on to power.
Massa also reportedly opined that the current president “would be much better without Nestor than she is with him”. - Sapa-AFP