Argentina's Kirchner hits pre-election turbulence

BUENOS AIRES, May 22 (Reuters) A corruption scandal, teachers' protests and rioting commuters are troubling Argentine President Nestor Kirchner as he considers running for reelection or backing his wife to replace him.

Kirchner was this month forced to fire the head of a regulatory agency implicated in a public works bribes scandal and to demand the resignation of the governor of his own Santa Cruz province as a prolonged teachers' strike turned violent.

Kirchner remains popular with approval ratings above 50 percent and until recently the main doubt about the Oct. 28 election was whether he would run or instead throw his support behind his wife, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.

Polls have shown that either of the two would beat a divided opposition.

But the campaign could be more difficult than many had thought and an expected announcement that the first lady, a powerful senator, will run for president has been delayed until June or July while the Kirchners test the political waters.

''Nestor Kirchner has just entered the worst days of his presidency,'' wrote Joaquin Morales Sola, a columnist for leading daily newspaper La Nacion.

Kirchner took office in 2003 after a deep economic crisis that pushed millions into poverty. He has led the country in four years of booming economic recovery and used controversial economic measures such as price controls to stem inflation.

He is seen as having concentrated power in a few officials close to him but recent events are testing Kirchner's control.

CORRUPTION A long-running corruption and tax evasion probe took a dramatic turn this month when investigators found audio recordings on a computer server at the Argentine unit of Nordic builder Skanska.

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