Spanish foreign minister José Luis Albares has recalled Spain’s Ambassador to Argentina over comments made by the country’s president, Javier Milei.
Albares pulled Ambassador María Jesús Alonso out of Buenos Aires after the Argentinian president appeared to mock Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s wife, who is currently under investigation over alleged corruption.
The Spanish minister is now threatening to cut Spain’s diplomatic ties with Argentina should Milei “not apologise” for his “frontal attacks” on the PM’s wife, as well as what the minister described as Argentina’s “blatant interference” in Spain’s internal affairs.
The Argentinian Government has since stated that the President would not apologise for the comments, with Milei ridiculing the Spanish reaction as “absurd”.
“Sánchez will become the laughingstock of the whole world for the clownery he is putting forward with a personal issue,” he remarked.
Milei went on to label Sánchez a “fatally arrogant socialist”.
Argentina’s newly elected libertarian president, Javier Milei, has publicly berated the growing influence of Western ‘Neo-Marxists’ at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum. https://t.co/l7rpH0ZynP
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) January 19, 2024
The spat centres around comments made by Milei at a VOX party event in Madrid on May 20.
Headlined by the populist party’s leader Santiago Abascal, French National Rally bigwig Marine Le Pen and the President of Portugal’s Chega party Andre Ventura, Milei used the platform to take potshots at Sánchez’s wife, Begoña Gómez, who is currently under scrutiny over alleged influence peddling.
“They do not know what kind of society and country socialism can produce … even when their wives are corrupt and take five days to think about it,” Milei said in reference to Sánchez’s decision to ponder his political future after the allegations against his wife were widely reported by the media.
According to Albares, Milei’s comments constituted an attack on the “dignity and sovereignty” of Spain “and an attack to the European Union as a whole”.
The European Commission’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell agreed with the statements, opting to also issue a public criticism of Milei.
“Attacks against family members of political leaders have no place in our culture,” he said.
“We condemn and reject them, especially when coming from partners.”
VOX has rejected Albares’ demands, labelling them “ridiculous”.
“What in the hell has the wife of the Prime Minister to do with Spain’s ‘sovereignty and dignity’?” Abascal asked on X.
The diplomatic spat between the Spanish and Argentinian Governments started earlier this month, when Óscar Puente, Sánchez’s transport minister, claimed Milei “consumed substances”, potentially insinuating wrongdoing.
Milei’s office dismissed the comment, saying Sánchez’s Government “had more important issues to handle”, such as separatism and illegal immigration.
The Argentinian President’s office stated Sánchez “has put in danger the unity of the Kingdom [of Spain]” and made reference to the “corruption accusations” levied against Sánchez’s wife.
ANALYSIS: While in other European countries, traditional parties implode and give way to others, in #Spain there is one party that always rises again: the Socialist Party, writes @JavierVillamor.
Read the full article 👉🏼 https://t.co/QfmC3SpGCs pic.twitter.com/KSAEA6Wbn7
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) May 16, 2024
