CLAIMS by former Argentinian president Eduardo Duhalde that the country is set to face a coup d’etat have been dismissed across its political spectrum.

“Duhalde’s statements are a slander,” Defence Minister Agustin Rossi said, citing that his daily contact with the reality of the country’s military underlined the claim’s impossibility.

Mr Rossi was responding to comments made during a television interview late on Monday in which Mr Duhalde speculated that elections scheduled for next year would not take place.

“Opinion polls are showing the institution most respected by Argentines is the armed forces, and we are the champs of military dictatorships,” the former president said.

But Malvinas Islands Affairs Secretary Daniel Filmus said that the armed forces were “allies of our democratic system,” that the question of democracy had been settled since 1983.

Opposition politicians also voiced concern over Mr Duhalde’s “irresponsible” remarks, with Civic Coalition-ARI President Paula Oliveto urging Argentina’s institutions to remain firm.

Mr Duhalde, who was president from 2002 to 2003, was accused of standing with the same elite and media groups trying to destabilise the country with claims that it is ungovernable.

Lawyer Gregorio Dalbon said his comments were timed deliberately: “He was sent to speak,” he said, warning that “blood would flow” if there was a coup.