The Leftist Electoral Retreat Continues

While the United States has lurched furtively leftward, across the globe left-wing political parties remain in full-scale retreat from Europe to Canada to South Korea, and now to Argentina:

BUENOS AIRES, June 29 (Reuters) - Argentine President Cristina Fernandez suffered a stinging blow in Sunday's mid-term, losing her majority in the lower house as voters rejected her combative politics and handling of an economic slowdown.

In a humiliating defeat for Argentina's first couple, her powerful husband and predecessor, former President Nestor Kirchner, was upset in a high-profile congressional race.

The result heightened political uncertainties in Latin America's No. 3 economy, potentially setting off a power struggle in the ruling Peronist party.

Fernandez could replace several cabinet ministers in the wake of the defeat, a government source told reporters, asking not to be named.

A slate of candidates headed by billionaire businessman Francisco de Narvaez took just 2 percentage points more votes than the slate headed by Kirchner, in a closely watched race in the country's most populous province, Buenos Aires.

"This is a stunning result," said Federico Thomsen, an Argentine political and economic analyst. "Kirchner put everything he had in this election, he put himself in the battlefront and it still wasn't enough."

The mid-term election was widely seen as a referendum on the Kirchners, and the former president had hoped to shore flagging support for his wife by winning the province, a crucial electoral battleground and Peronist stronghold.

Kirchner conceded to De Narvaez, a 55-year-old center-right congressman.

Meanwhile, in Germany (of all places), they are talking about cutting taxes:

BERLIN -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel defended her plan to cut taxes despite the country's soaring budget deficit as she introduced her conservative alliance's manifesto ahead of national elections in September.

Lower incomes taxes would "provide motivation" and encourage economic growth, Ms. Merkel told a conference of her party, the Christian Democratic Union, and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union.

"It would be wrong not to do what is right and necessary for growth, and so prevent ourselves emerging quickly from this crisis," Ms. Merkel said in her conference speech.

The conservative parties' election platform promises tax cuts worth €15 billion ($21 billion), but gives no time frame. The parties plan to cut the lowest income tax rate to 12% from 14% at present, raise the threshold for paying the top income tax rate of 42%, and reduce the degree to which a rising income leads to a progressively higher tax rate.

What strange and different ideas these foreigners are starting to get. Here we elected somebody who wants to be more like them, and they're trying to be more like we were before we elected that guy.