Luis Ayllón
The Spanish government has recalled its ambassador in Buenos Aires, María Jesús Alonso, for consultations in response to the statements made by the Argentinean president, Javier Milei, who yesterday morning accused the wife of the head of the Spanish government, Pedro Sánchez, of being “corrupt”.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, made the announcement Sunday afternoon, in an institutional declaration at La Moncloa, in which he demanded an apology from the Argentinean president, whom he accused of having gone beyond “any kind of political and ideological difference” with his statements.
During the Europa VIVA24 event, organised by Vox at the Palacio de Vistalegre, Milei launched a harsh attack on socialist ideas, claiming that implementing them leads to “slavery or death”.
He stressed, without expressly quoting either Sánchez or his wife, Begoña Gómez, but in clear reference to both, given the mention of the period of reflection that the president of the government held: “They don’t know what kind of society and country socialism can produce and what kind of people screwed into power and what levels of abuse it can generate. Even if his wife is corrupt, let’s say dirty, and he takes five days to think about it”.
Milei’s words come days after statements by the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, suggesting that Milei “ingested substances”, provoked a diplomatic clash between Madrid and Buenos Aires, as the Argentine president’s office released a statement in which he said that Sánchez’s executive “has more important problems to deal with, such as the accusations of corruption that fall on his wife, a matter that even led him to evaluate his resignation”.
Yesterday, in the aforementioned institutional statement without questions, Albares said that, on the occasion of Milei’s visit to Spain – in which he had not planned any meeting with either the King or members of the Government – the Argentine president was provided with “the necessary public resources” and was treated “with all due respect and deference”.
“However, he has responded to this hospitality and good faith with a frontal attack on our democracy, our institutions and Spain. He added: “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”.
According to Albares, this is “an act that breaks with all diplomatic customs and the most elementary rules of coexistence between countries” and which “has no precedent – he said – in the history of international relations, and even less so in the history of relations between two countries and two peoples united by strong ties of brotherhood”.
The minister emphasised that, with his behaviour, Milei “has brought relations between Spain and Argentina to their most serious moment in our recent history“, and the government has therefore decided to recall the ambassador in Buenos Aires for consultations ‘sine die’.
Albares demanded a “public apology” from the Argentinean president and threatened Milei with taking “all the measures we deem appropriate,” he said, “to defend our sovereignty and our dignity”. From the diplomatic point of view, a further step in the diplomatic crisis would be to expel the Argentine ambassador in Madrid, Roberto Bosch, who handed over his credentials to the King last Thursday.
The minister insisted that Milei should “respect the manners that are due between nations, which exclude interference in internal affairs, and that he should live up to the great country he represents and the post he holds”. “He said that he should never have abandoned such manners and respect, especially when he was in the capital of Spain.
Albares also reported that “given the seriousness of the situation”, he had contacted the Foreign Affairs spokespersons of all the parliamentary groups “to seek their support” and said that a large majority had given him their support”, although he pointed out that the PP and Vox had not yet expressed their support.
PP: We will not participate in the PSOE’s strategy
The PSOE called on PP president Alberto Núñez Feijóo to reject what they consider “unacceptable statements”. Teresa Ribera and Patxi López urged Feijóo to react, while Santos Cerdán stressed that the PP’s silence encourages the “destructive hatred” of the global far right. And the government spokeswoman, Pilar Alegría, accused the PP president of “feeding” the “hatred” and “insults” of his “allies”, referring to the leader of Vox, Santiago Abascal.
The spokesman of the Popular Parliamentary Group in the Congress of Deputies, Miguel Tellado, said that his party will not participate in “the PSOE’s strategy” and that its job is to oppose the president of Spain, not the president of Argentina. “They want Milei to mobilise the electorate that is no longer convinced by the government. Weeks ago that Sanchez should have given explanations of the cases of alleged corruption affecting his government, his party and personal environment”.
Tellado criticised that the president’s silence generates “internal doubts”.
The European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security, Josep Borrell, with whom Minister Albares also spoke yesterday, later wrote on his social network account X: “Attacks against relatives of political leaders have no place in our culture: we condemn and reject them, especially when they come from partners”.
For his part, the leader of Vox, Santiago Abascal, asked on his social network account X: “what the hell does the president’s wife have to do with the sovereignty and dignity of Spain” and “what kind of joke is Albares calling the parliamentary groups”. Abascal added that they have not responded “to the ridiculous phone call” from Albares and ironically advised Sánchez to take “another five days of holiday to whine” and not to mount “pathetic diplomatic stunts”.
Relations between Spain and Argentina have cooled considerably since the victory in the last presidential elections by Javier Milei, to whom Sánchez did not send any message of congratulations. Nor did the Foreign Minister accompany the King to Milei’s inauguration, although he subsequently held a meeting with the Argentine Foreign Minister, Diana Mondino, during the Munich Security Conference held in February.
Milei arrived in Madrid on Friday, presented one of his books in the newspaper ‘La Razón’, met on Saturday at the Argentine Embassy with Spanish businessmen with interests in his country, and yesterday participated, as one of its main stars, in the Vox rally, which brought together several international leaders from the most radical right-wing spectrum.
The Argentine president is due to return to Spain on 21 June to receive the Juan de Marina Institute award for his defence of freedom. On that occasion, it was thought that meetings with the King and the Prime Minister might take place, but this may remain up in the air as the diplomatic crisis between Spain and Argentina has worsened.
