And it paid dividends: after a decade out of power, the Socialists won a 1995 election and went into government with Guterres as their prime minister. Guterres made his name in the 1990s as one of a new European generation of modernizing Socialists that included British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Under Guterres’ leadership, the Socialists jettisoned their leftist policies and became a moderate party occupying the political centre ground. One newspaper described Guterres’ time in power as “a permanent balancing act” of trying not to upset anyone. Guterres unexpectedly resigned as prime minister after the Socialists lost heavily in municipal elections in 2001.

Source: Bueno Aires Herald October 06, 2016 00:56 UTC