Uproar about Milei
Spain summons Argentine ambassador
At a campaign event, Javier Milei sharply criticized Sánchez’s Spanish left-wing government – with consequences. photo
© Carlos Luján/EUROPA PRESS/dpa
Javier Milei is known for his verbal attacks against the left and socialism. But now the President of Argentina has gone too far, says the Spanish government. The conflict threatens to escalate.
After Argentine President Javier Milei’s verbal attack on Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and his wife Begoña, the diplomatic crisis between the two countries has come to a head. Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said on state television station RTVE that he had personally summoned the Argentine ambassador in Madrid.
They are demanding a “public apology” from Milei, otherwise measures will be taken. According to RTVE and other usually well-informed media, is considering Madrid to break off relations. A government spokesman in Buenos Aires initially ruled out an apology.
In his first reaction to the scandal, Sánchez said: “What we witnessed yesterday in Madrid shows the danger that this far-right international poses to societies like ours, where democracy rests on the pillars of economic progress, social justice and… based on coexistence.” Respect is also essential in relations between governments that disagree ideologically.
What happened?
At a campaign event organized by the Spanish right-wing populists (Vox) for the European elections in Madrid, the ultra-liberal Milei sharply criticized Sánchez’s left-wing government and described the socialist’s wife, Begoña Gómez, as “corrupt”. Madrid’s first response didn’t take long to arrive: it recalled its ambassador in Buenos Aires on Sunday for consultations and “for an indefinite period of time.”
Albares accused Milei of “interfering in Spain’s internal affairs.” “A foreign head of state does not visit a country to insult its institutions,” the minister said. On Sunday, Albares spoke of a “frontal attack on our democracy, on our institutions and on Spain.”
At the performance in Madrid, Milei was celebrated like a rock star, as the newspaper “El Mundo” wrote. The man, who describes himself as an “anarcho-capitalist,” thrilled the more than 10,000 participants with statements about how they should “say goodbye to damned and cancerous socialism.” Socialism leads “to slavery or death” and social justice is “always unjust.” “Thank you very much, Javier Milei, for the terror you have frightened the left of the West,” said Vox President Santiago Abascal.
High-ranking right-wing, right-wing populist and national conservative politicians also took part in the meeting from abroad, including Marine Le Pen from the French Rassemblement National party, the Portuguese André Ventura, the Chilean José Kast and also the Israeli Minister for Social Equality, Amichai Chikli.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni joined in via video and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán sent a message in which he described the European Parliament elections from June 6th to 9th as “a great common fight” against a Europe that is “mass illegal “Migration”.