Pedro Pablo Kuczynski had to have his arm twisted to take on the job of Peruvian Finance minister in February 2004. And when he finally agreed, the former fund manager insisted that he would stay only a year. His reluctance was understandable: The government of President Alejandro Toledo was unpopular and appeared close to collapse, and Kuczynski, 66, was happily semiretired at his farm in Wisconsin.
But now, more than a year later, the Oxford- and Princeton-educated Kuczynski is so content being Finance minister, he’s considering upping the ante -- and running for president in next April’s elections. “I’m ready to take on the job for a five-year term, not a day longer,” he says. “What I want to do is work to produce results. I’m a very modest person.”
A Kuczynski candidacy would surprise some, considering that the wealthy Peruvian, who spent most of the ‘80s and ‘90s on Wall Street -- at Credit Suisse First Boston, Westfield Capital and the Latin American Enterprise Fund, where he’s still a partner and works part-time -- finds more favor among bankers and analysts than with the Andean peasants of Peru. “Indeed, investors don’t elect the president,” he laughs.
But after overseeing growth of 5 percent in 2004, Peru’s best in seven years, the pro-market politician has earned credibility. Recent polls give Kuczynski a respectable 10 percent popularity rating, compared with 20 percent for the top candidate, Lima’s center-left mayor, Luis Castañeda.
Although Kuczynski remains coy about his strategy for the race (candidates don’t have to register until October), some say his campaigning has already begun. Since January the Finance minister -- an accomplished pianist and flutist who has played with Peru’s professional orchestras -- has given concerts for charity and made visits to factories and poor neighborhoods, with the media tagging along.
