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Spain-Argentina spat rages on after Milei calls Sánchez’s wife ‘corrupt’

Spain on Sunday said it was recalling its ambassador from Buenos Aires after Argentine President Javier Milei, speaking at a far-right gathering in Madrid, called Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's wife "corrupt".

Published: 20 May 2024 08:52 CEST

Spain-Argentina spat rages on after Milei calls Sánchez's wife 'corrupt'

Argentina's president Javier Milei gestures on stage during the Spanish far-right wing party Vox's rally "Europa Viva 24" in Madrid on May 19, 2024. (Photo by OSCAR DEL POZO / AFP)

The European Union also stepped into the row, its foreign policy chief Josep Borrell condemning Milei’s remarks.

The anti-establishment Argentine was the star speaker at a meeting of global far-right leaders organised by Spain’s Vox party called Viva 24, which also featured Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and France’s Marine Le Pen.

During his speech, Milei referred to Sánchez’s wife, Begoña Gómez, as a “corrupt woman”.

He did not identify Sánchez or his wife by name, but he did allude to a cooling-off period that Spain’s Socialist premier took last month to decide whether to resign after a court opened a preliminary probe into his wife for suspected influence peddling and corruption.

Sánchez has dismissed the allegations against Gómez as part of a campaign of political harassment by the right.

“The global elites don’t realise how destructive it can be to implement the ideas of socialism… even if you have a corrupt wife, let’s say, it gets dirty, and you take five days to think about it,” Milei said.

Just hours later, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares announced that Madrid would recall for consultations its ambassador to Argentina, and demanded a public apology from Milei.

“It is unacceptable that a sitting president visiting Spain should insult Spain and the Spanish prime minister, a fact that breaks with all diplomatic customs,” Albares said in a televised address.

The recall of an ambassador for consultations is one of the strongest measures in diplomacy and the final step before the severing of diplomatic relations.

‘Satanic’ socialism

Milei responded to Spain’s move by reposting a video of his speech on social media, along with the comment “here are my words at Viva 24 that make you so uncomfortable”.

Milei, who began his visit to Spain on Friday, was not scheduled to meet Sánchez or King Felipe VI during his stay, as would be customary during a visit by a foreign leader.

During a speech on his first day in Spain, Milei denounced what he called “satanic” socialism.

“Let us not let the dark, black, satanic, atrocious, horrible carcinogenic side that is socialism prevail over us,” he said, in a talk about his books on libertarian ideas.

He picked up the theme again on Sunday during his address to the rally at Madrid’s Vistalegre congress centre, which was attended by some 11,000 people according to Vox.

“I will lead by example and show the world that a government with our ideas can succeed. It is up to me to show them how sinister and nefarious socialism is,” he said.

The event came ahead of elections to the European Parliament from June 6-9.

Surveys suggest those will result in major gains for Europe’s far right, giving it more influence in Brussels.

‘Benefit a few’

Milei, a self-declared “anarcho-capitalist” won elections last November vowing to reduce the Argentine deficit to zero.

To that end, he has instituted an austerity programme that has seen the government slash subsidies for transport, fuel and energy.

Le Pen, France’s far-right standard-bearer and former presidential candidate, stressed the need for tighter limits on immigration in her speech, a central theme of European far-right parties.

“Entire areas of my country, France, are being submerged by immigration,” she said.

In video messages, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban urged “patriots” to “occupy Brussels”, while Meloni, Italy’s premier, called for a “mobilisation” to bring about “change in Europe”.

In a message posted on X, Sánchez said the “international far-right” was meeting in Madrid “because Spain represents what they hate: feminism, social justice, labour dignity”.

Hundreds of people, many holding up signs that read “no fascism!” protested in Madrid’s central Plaza de Colón against the gathering.

Among them was 27-year-old Argentinian Marisel Cherasco who criticised Milei’s policies because they “benefit a few at the expense of the well-being of the majority”.

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INTERVIEW: 'A lot of people think Brexit is done, but it's not for Brits in Europe'

In the early days of 2021, after the United Kingdom had left the EU and completed the final stage of Brexit, many British citizens returned to their home countries in Europe only to face a grilling at the border.

Though the Withdrawal Agreement (WA) technically guaranteed their right to live and work in the countries they’d settled in before Brexit, there was widespread confusion about these fundamental rights and many were treated like new arrivals.

Over time, the chaos at the airports subsided as border officials and airlines were given clearer guidance on the treatment of Brits. But three years later, a number of Brits who live on the continent still face problems when it comes to proving their post-Brexit rights.

This was the reason campaign group British in Europe decided to set up their new EU-funded ICE project. Starting this year in March, it aims to build valuable connections between UK citizens abroad and mentor the next generation of civil rights advocates around the continent. The acronym stands for ‘Inform, Empower, Connect’ and the project’s organisers describe it as “the first project of its kind”.

“It’s a completely innovative project – especially the fact that it’s across so many countries,” Jane Golding, chair of British in Europe and one of the project’s founders, told The Local.

Bringing together groups from 11 EU member states, the project aims to train up volunteers to understand both the Withdrawal Agreement and EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, as well as learning skills like advocacy and communication, using real-life civil rights cases that are referred to British in Europe.

“The ultimate goal is to amplify the messages across the wider group,” said Golding. “You start with the volunteers, they go back to their groups, then the people that we train, they go back and train people. Then they pass on that knowledge to the wider groups, on their Facebook accounts and through social media, and hopefully it all snowballs, not just in their countries but across the EU.”

‘Far-reaching repercussions’

So many years after Brexit, it’s hard to believe that there’s still a need for a project like ICE that empowers Brits to protect their rights. Indeed, the future of groups like British in Europe and regional groups like British in Germany and British in Spain felt uncertain just a year or two ago.

But Golding says there are still serious issues cropping up for Brits in several countries around Europe – they just have a different quality to the problems that arose at the start.

“In some ways it’s needed even more because as we predicted right at the beginning, at the first stage of implementation, you’ve got the more routine cases,” she explained.

“What we’re seeing now is not as many cases, but when the cases come up, they’re complex. They can have such far-reaching repercussions on people’s lives. And of course, memories start to fade. A lot of people think Brexit is already done, but it’s not.”

Volunteers in British in Europe ICE project

The volunteers of the British in Europe ICE project pose for a photo at the kick-off meeting in Brussels on May 21st, 2024. Photo courtesy of Jane Golding

Though the rights set out in the Withdrawal Agreement apply across the continent, different countries have taken different approaches to implementing them.

That means that while in Germany, for example, UK citizens simply had to declare that they lived in the country, people in neighbouring Denmark had to apply for their rights.

This led to a notorious situation in Denmark in which as many as 2,000 Brits were threatened with deportation after not applying in time or completing the right application process. According to Golding, this had a lot to do with the fact that people who arrived in 2020 weren’t given the same information as other UK migrants who arrived before.

In Sweden, meanwhile, the situation is still difficult for many Brits who lived there prior to Brexit.

“There have been issues with an anomalously high numbers of refusals compared to other countries, and they seem to be taking a very strict approach on late applications,” Golding explained.

Portugal has been another difficult case. Although the country opted for a declaratory system where Brits could simply exchange old residence documents for a new ID card after Brexit, reports suggest that the authorities have taken years to issue these cards, leaving many of the some 34,000 Brits in the country in limbo.

“While people are still waiting to have their status confirmed and have their card in their hand, it’s difficult to access a whole range of services, like health services, or applying for jobs or dealing with the authorities, or even going to the bank,” Golding said. “All of these problems just affect people’s lives.”

A French border guard checks a passport at the border

A French border guard checks a passport at the border. Photo by DENIS CHARLET / AFP

There are also concerns about the EU’s new exit and entry system (EES), due to come into force in October, which is based on biometric documentation.

“We still do not have clear data on how many people in declaratory countries like Germany, where it wasn’t compulsory to apply for the card, don’t actually have a card,” Golding said. “How is that going to play out if it’s a document-based digitalised system?”

A lack of support

In the immediate aftermath of Brexit, funding from the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) was still available to support NGOs in Europe helping Brits with their migration and civil rights issues. But that temporary funding soon expired, leaving groups like British in Europe largely on their own.

“The whole point is people’s lives change at very different paces,” Golding said. “And now this project is really going to start to pick up some of those cases and report on those issues, which is really crucial and exciting for the precedent that it sets, and it’s very clearly necessary still, because people don’t just sort their lives in the 18 months that the FCDO chose to supply that funding.”

This feeling of being left alone and increasingly isolated from the UK is one that many Brits in Europe have felt in the aftermath of Brexit. But the upcoming UK election on July 4th could be a game-changer.

This time, following a change in the law, Brits who have lived abroad for more than 15 years will be able to vote for the first time.

Polling station in the UK

A polling station in the UK. Photo by Elliott Stallion on Unsplash

When it comes to the election, the message from British in Europe is clear: “Make your voice count now, make your vote count, make sure you use it,” Golding said.

With the June 18th registration deadline fast approaching, BiE is advising UK citizens abroad to apply for a proxy vote as soon as possible, rather than relying on a postal vote from abroad. Since the 15-year rule was abolished on January 16th, more than 100,000 British citizens have registered to vote, according to official statistics. It is unclear how many were registered before the change in the law.

With an estimated 5.5 million Brits currently living abroad – 1.3 million of whom are in the EU – this could have a significant impact on the electoral landscape, Golding says. But most significantly, the change is creating a feeling of connection and belonging that wasn’t there before.

Nurturing this sense of belonging is one of the main goals of ICE.

With these bridges being built, British in Europe hopes to create a network of support that spans across borders.

“Now we’ve met. We’re going to meet,” said Golding. “We know we’re going to meet again in Berlin in October and then we’ll meet again in the new year in 2025 as well. It means a huge amount because even British in Europe, our steering team, we’ve only met physically three times.”

This opens up the possibility of people sharing their knowledge from country to country, Golding explained.

“There is crossover and the reassurance of having that EU wide view and knowing that you’re not alone and knowing that in this country, we managed to get this solution,” she said. “And then you can go back and say to the authorities in your country, well, in that country they did that – all of that helps. It’s really good.”

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