Analysis-'Drained of power': Argentina's Peronists face identity crisis after midterm rout

FILE PHOTO: President of Argentina Alberto Fernandez speaks accompanied by President of the Chamber of Deputies Sergio Massa, Gisela Marziotta, Leandro Santoro, Governor of Buenos Aires Axel Kicillof, Maximo Kirchner and Victoria Tolosa Paz during an event after midterm elections in Buenos Aires, Argentina, November 14, 2021. REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina's Peronist ruling coalition is teetering on the brink of political crisis, with President Alberto Fernandez facing a fight for control after voters abandoned his center-left party in bruising midterm elections, sapping his power in Congress.

The party, a mix of moderates allied with the president and a powerful hard-left faction around Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, now has a dilemma: concede ground to work with the opposition, swerve left - or split down the middle.