Argentina just inaugurated a new president, and it looks like this one will stick around for a while. He's the sixth in 18 months, but this is a formal transition after an election. Chess fan Duhalde is out and Nestor Kirchner is in. One of the last things Duhalde signed, apparently, is approval for state financial support of the rescheduled (Novemberish) Kasparov-Ponomariov FIDE world championship match in Buenos Aires.
The new vice-president of Argentina, Daniel Scioli, was a famous boat racer. He also claims to love to play chess, and to have played many times with Duhalde! (In this interview.) This would seem to be a good omen. But back in the 90's he was on a sports commission where he had several conflicts with GM Miguel Quinteros, one of the main organizers of Kasparov-Ponomariov. Not a problem, I hope. Scioli supported chess when he was the tourism and sports secretary, his previous job.
The latest rumor (god forbid someone from FIDE go on the record or make an official release) is that a $1 million guarantee from the Argentine organizers has been paid to FIDE.
So even if everything goes perfectly from now on (ha ha), unification is a year away at best. If there is no Leko-Kramnik match this year it may be irrelevant. FIDE might just declare that they can't wait any longer, at least assuming that their own plans go forward. The sides have taken turns accusing the other of breaking with the Prague reunification accords.
