Presidency of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner sliding scale; at the event, Kirchner called on farmers to act "as part of a country, not as owners of a country." In April 2008, on the 26th anniversary of the Falklands War, Kirchner stepped up Argentine claims to the Falkland Islands. She called Argentina's rights to the islands "inalienable". The large majorities in the Argentine Congress enjoyed by the Front for Victory could not ultimately guarantee a legislative blank check: on July 16, 2008, the presidentially sponsored bill met with deadlock, and was ultimately defeated by the tie-breaking "no" vote of Vice President Julio Cobos himself. The controversy cost
Presidency of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner to an unprecedented 23%. Once recovered from the conflict with agrarian interests, Cristina Kirchner's public approval improved; her job approval ratings rose by 30% ("Poliarquía", 08/22/08). Her inflexible handling of the protests and reluctance to review the policies that sparked the protest have led to speculation that it is her husband, predecessor in office and current leader of the Justicialist Party, Néstor Kirchner, who controls her administration. The British weekly newspaper "The Economist" has described this situation as Kirchner "paying the price for her husband's pig-headedness", and as of February 2009, her job approval rating was 28%. On October 20,