Argentine President Javier Milei was in Madrid for the weekend, not to meet Spanish authorities but rather to attend a fascist Woodstock hosted by Vox, Spain’s Franco fanboys. Marine Le Pen also spoke at the rally as did Giorgia Meloni by video link. During his remarks Milei described the Prime Minister’s wife as corrupt and said Sánchez had shat himself when an investigation was opened into her activities.
Shortly afterwards Spain’s Foreign Minister Albares recalled his country’s ambassador from Buenos Aires for consultations and warned that if a public apology from Milei is not forthcoming then further measures would be taken. This is the key section of his remarks,
Mutual respect and non-interference in internal affairs is an unbreakable principle in international relations and it is unacceptable that a sitting president, on a visit to Spain, should insult Spain and the President of the Government of Spain. A breach of all diplomatic customs and the most elementary rules of coexistence between countries.
It’s been widely reported that this row is all about the insult to Sánchez’s wife but there’s no mention of her in the statement, the reason given for the recall of the ambassador is the insult to Sánchez and the Government of Spain by a foreign president who had been welcomed into the country.
Needless to say, there isn’t going to be any apology from Milei, he’s been up most of the night RTing favorable responses to his remarks and is delighted by the international attention he’s receiving. No doubt we’ll soon have 5,000-word think pieces from his adoring Harvard PhD in economics type “liberal” fans explaining how a diplomatic row with the fourth largest EU economy and the second biggest foreign investor in the country is part of his master plan to return the country to greatness.
Nor will Milei’s behavior assist his ambition to have Argentina accepted as a global partner of NATO.
But doesn’t Milei have a point? Didn’t some Spanish minister call him a drug user?
A couple of weeks ago Transport Minister Puente said pretty much that. But a president doesn’t answer a mere foreign transport minister, still less fly to the capital of the country concerned and insult the Prime Minister and his wife. The correct response would have been to call in the Spanish ambassador in Buenos Aires for a dressing down. Even if everything Milei and his fans say about Sánchez, his wife, and the government were true international relations can’t be conducted based on Milei’s behavior this weekend.
The big winner in all this is Pedro Sánchez. We’re three weeks from the European parliament elections and Milei has gifted him a flying start to the campaign. The message he’ll put out is simple, “It’s the PSOE or the Neofascist International, me or Milei, Meloni and Le Pen, take your pick”.
The big loser is the PP and its leader Alberto Sánchez Feijóo, neither able to endorse nor condemn Milei. If they do the former, they align themselves with the neofascists, and if the latter with the hated Sánchez.
Not far behind are the Spanish captains of industry and commerce who were foolish enough to pose for a photo with Milei during his visit. Their sympathy for the Fascist International now couldn’t be clearer.
My best guess is that the ambassador won’t be returning to Buenos Aires anytime soon but Spain won’t up the diplomatic ante further, I don’t see Argentina’s ambassador here being kicked out because Milei won’t apologize, that would be over-egging it.
Over on the other side of the pond, some of Milei’s supporters may imagine that a culture war against Spain will be just the thing to distract attention from the consequences of his economic measures; lowering inflation a little by bringing economic activity to a halt. I doubt that’ll work, there’s no base of instinctive anti-Spanish feeling to sustain it and anyway, Milei isn’t that calculating, he’s just a catherine wheel of insults and extreme emotions, today it’s Spain, tomorrow it’ll be some other enemy, foreign or domestic.
I’ve often said that the first rule of Spanish politics since the end of 2018 has been clear; Pedro Sánchez always wins. It’s been again confirmed this weekend.