Moncloa is willing to go as far as necessary to maintain pressure and for the Argentine president, Javier Milei, to rectify it, although this does not mean that they put the most drastic measure on the table, the breaking of diplomatic relations. The environment of the leader of La Libertad Avanza insists that he will not back down, but Pedro Sánchez is convinced that in this matter he is completely right and Milei has made a huge mistake by attacking a democratic leader from another country in his own home, something unprecedented in minimal diplomatic uses. Sánchez also feels strong because he is receiving a lot of unexpected support or at least direct criticism of Milei, not only from the majority parties, as expected, but even from the PP which, with nuances and ambiguities, has now decided to criticize the Argentine. Especially significant is the support of large Spanish companies that, after meeting with him on Saturday, are issuing statements expressly rejecting his words on Sunday at the Vox rally in Vistalegre.
Sánchez seems very comfortable in this confrontation with Milei, who politically places the European electoral campaign, which begins on Thursday, exactly at the point that the PSOE leader was looking for: in a confrontation between the progressives and the extreme right. The president even pointed out the possibility of taking even harsher measures than those he has already adopted, with the call for consultations sine die of the Spanish ambassador and the meeting of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, with the Argentine ambassador to convey the Spanish discomfort and demand the apology of the head of state of the southern country. The Moncloa avoids clarifying what these more serious measures would be, although it is now clear what happens if Milei finally confirms a new trip to Spain that he had planned for the end of June.
Sánchez has made this issue the priority of his political agenda. This Monday, the president demanded “respect” for Milei – who on Sunday called Sánchez’s wife, Begoña Gómez, “corrupt” – and pointed out that, if there is no rectification, the Spanish Executive will take measures and there will be a “response in accordance with the dignity that Spanish democracy represents.” Sánchez highlighted “the ties of brotherhood that unite Spain and Argentina.” “Between governments, affections are free, but respect is inalienable,” he remarked. “We are two brother countries that love and respect each other. What we experienced yesterday in Madrid does not speak of what we Spaniards and Argentines feel, of two peoples who in difficult times counted on each other to get up. It doesn’t talk about the common roots we have. “I am fully aware that whoever spoke yesterday did not do so on behalf of the great Argentine people,” he said at the beginning of his intervention at the CREO economic forum, organized by Five daysnewspaper of Grupo Prisa.
Meanwhile, the Argentine Government defended that it is the Spanish Executive who should apologize to the Argentine, and not the other way around. And the president seems happy with the controversy, which he brags about on the X network, in which he pointed out that he had returned to Buenos Aires “surfing on a wave of socialist tears”informs Mar Centenera. “The Argentine Government urges that the officials of the Kingdom of Spain apologize after saying that President Milei consumes substances, that we are a government of hate, denialism and we attack democracy,” said the spokesman, Manuel Adorni in a conference press in the Casa Rosada dominated by the diplomatic crisis with Spain. In reality, Adorni himself had closed the crisis two weeks ago due to the words of Minister Óscar Puente about the alleged “substances” that Milei could consume, but now he reopens it after the controversial trip. Puente already said that if he had known of the significance of his words, which in the Spanish Government are considered an obvious blunder, he would not have uttered them.
But Milei does not seem willing to back down or anything similar, at least for now. The Argentine president said at the Vox rally “they do not know what type of society and country socialism can produce and what kind of people screwed in power and what levels of abuse it can generate. Even if he has a corrupt wife, he gets dirty and takes five days to think about it” in clear reference to Sánchez and his wife, Begoña Gómez.
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The novelty is that this crisis is no longer just between governments. Large Spanish companies have also clearly come out to criticize Milei, with specific statements from companies with many interests in the country such as Telefónica, Iberia or BBVA. But above all, the president of the employers’ association, Antonio Garamendi, who met with Milei on Saturday, was emphatic, but this Monday he said that such interference in national politics when visiting a country is unacceptable.
Sánchez, who clearly has an interest in this matter making visible the risks of the extreme right arriving at the heart of European power, not only attacked Milei. He also accused Vox leader Santiago Abascal of encouraging “political violence” against the socialists. “Saying that a legitimate Government must be kicked out and kicked out is undemocratic and requires a resounding condemnation from all political forces and all the media,” said Sánchez. The PSOE is thus trying to put pressure on the PP to distance itself from Vox, precisely the same axis of the campaign as the July 2023 general elections.
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