The credit, or the blame, belongs to newly elected President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. During a recent heat wave, she set the country's clocks forward an hour, giving Argentines an extra hour of daylight in the evening -- a reprieve from the chronic power outages that have plunged thousands into sweltering summer darkness.

But the move forward made a lot of Argentines look back. The energy shortage is considered by many to be an unhappy consequence of the celebrated economic policies of her husband and predecessor, Néstor Kirchner. His decision to cap electricity prices for consumers drove up demand and limited the public money available for upgrades and expansions.

In that way, the blackouts capture the central early-term challenge for Fernández de Kirchner: How does Argentina's first female president in three decades confront the political legacy of her husband?

"The energy crisis is the government's fault, because they never think about the long term -- but I still support Cristina," said Ernesto Nuñez, 51, of La Matanza, a community just outside Buenos Aires. "She's going to have to make some changes with the way things are going, but they should be minor ones. Nothing too big."

Before he draped the presidential sash over his wife on Dec. 10, Néstor Kirchner told the country to forget about him for a while, musing that his new life as "first gentleman" might allow him to drift away from the public stage. "I'm going to go off to a literary cafe, thank you very much," he quipped last year.

But his table still awaits him.

When a scandal erupted in December involving an alleged payment from Venezuela's traditionally friendly government to Fernández de Kirchner's presidential campaign, it was Néstor Kirchner who stridently came to the aid of his wife.

Displaying a brand of ire Argentines got to know well during his term, he angrily snapped that "Argentina is not a colony" of the United States. Now, it appears that the dominant Peronist party, whose most powerful member is his wife, will select him as its leader next month.

"There was an expectation that Néstor Kirchner would disappear for a while, and he very clearly has not done that," said Felipe Noguera, a political analyst in Buenos Aires. "It raises the question: 'Who's really in charge here?' Things haven't changed at all, and some of the problems left over from her husband's term are now gathering heat."

No one is suggesting that Fernández de Kirchner, popularly known just as Cristina, isn't actively leading the country. Even though discussions about frivolities such as her designer dresses, expensive handbags and even her eye makeup can seem like a national pastime, few believe she lacks political know-how. She was, after all, a prominent senator before her husband became president.

She is no Isabel Perón -- who took over as an unprepared president after her husband, Juan Perón, died in 1974 -- but she has encouraged comparisons to Perón's previous wife, known as Evita, who is still revered by Argentines for her combination of strong character and glamour.

And like Evita and Juan Perón, Fernández de Kirchner and her husband are viewed by many as a team, even though the couple discouraged the notion during the campaign.

"I think him becoming the head of the Peronist party is a logical step as they try to consolidate power," said Riordan Roett, director of Western Hemisphere studies at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. "She controls the purse strings and he controls the patronage. That's a very powerful combination in terms of keeping the country's governors in line and using the government's influence to influence their congressional delegations."

Elected in October from a broad field of candidates by receiving 45 percent of votes, Fernández de Kirchner remains popular at home. An opinion poll published last month by Management & Fit consultants put her public support at 57 percent. Her husband's approval rating a year ago as president was slightly higher.

The relative strength of the economy compared with what it was a few years ago is a big part of her popularity, because many believe the Kirchners' economic model represents a viable alternative to the free-market policies that have absorbed much of the blame for the financial crisis. But other factors contribute to their support. Fernández de Kirchner's outspoken criticism of the military dictatorship that ruled the country for much of the 1970s and 1980s plays well with a majority of the nation.

When she was inaugurated, Fernández de Kirchner spoke passionately about change. "It must be completely clear that for Argentina to have a future and avoid repeating the past, it needs to fully confront the challenge of change," she said. "Change is the name of the future."

Analysts say that when she highlighted "change" during her campaign, she was speaking of adjustments to many of the policies her husband had implemented -- not a complete overhaul.

So far, continuity has been the reality during the first part of her term.

"People hoped she'd be more pragmatic, and she's not more pragmatic -- she seems almost a prisoner of her husband's legacy," Roett said. "I'm waiting for new initiatives, and I haven't seen anything yet."

Most Argentines, particularly those in the country's provinces, remain willing to give their new president the benefit of the doubt. But in urban centers such as Buenos Aires, which did not favor Fernández de Kirchner in the election and where most public debate is generated, the contradiction between continuity and change is already creating tension.

The question has only grown more pressing: Is her presidency pushing Argentina into the future, or is it turning back the clock?