MADRID — The war of words between Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Argentina's President Javier Milei escalated again on Wednesday, as Milei used a visit to the Spanish capital to hurl fresh insults at his host government.
Speaking at an event in Madrid, Milei branded Sánchez a "disgraceful dictator" and called for the Socialists to be removed from power "by force." The Argentine leader, known for his abrasive style and far-right economics, has made no secret of his disdain for Spain's left-wing coalition.
Sánchez responded within hours, posting a video on X in which he defended his political record against Milei's pejorative use of the word "lefty."
"If raising pensions, increasing the minimum wage, or defending the right to abortion means being a lefty, then I am a lefty," Sánchez said. "Yes, I am a lefty, and proud of it."
He also changed his profile picture on social media to a red banner reading "Lefty and proud" — a direct rebuke to Milei's taunts. The Socialist Party (PSOE) joined in, hanging a banner at its headquarters on Madrid's Calle Ferraz that reads: "The lefties, men and women, welcome you to Spain."
A feud with deep roots
The animosity between the two leaders dates back to May 2024, when Milei, speaking at a rally organized by the far-right Vox party in Madrid, accused Sánchez's wife of corruption. Spain responded by withdrawing its ambassador from Buenos Aires, sparking a full-blown diplomatic crisis between the two countries.
Since then, Milei has repeatedly targeted Sánchez, while Sánchez has cast the Argentine as a symbol of the rising far-right threat in Europe and Latin America.
On Wednesday, Milei was scheduled to meet Isabel Díaz Ayuso, the conservative president of the Madrid region and a prominent figure in the opposition People's Party (PP). The two have met before: in June 2024, at the height of the diplomatic row, Ayuso awarded Milei the International Medal of the Community of Madrid.
Notably absent from Milei's itinerary were public meetings with Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the PP's national leader, or Santiago Abascal, the head of Vox. With Spain's general election set for 29 November, both opposition leaders appear wary of being photographed with the polarizing Argentine president. Feijóo and Milei have never held a formal meeting, having crossed paths only briefly at public events.
Abascal, however, knows Milei well. Both appeared at Vox's Europa Viva 24 rally at Madrid's Palacio de Vistalegre, which brought together leading figures of the international hard right, including France's Marine Le Pen, Hungary's Viktor Orbán, Chile's José Antonio Kast, and Portugal's André Ventura.
Abascal confirmed there would be no photo with Milei, saying the two would instead meet in private.
Clashes in A Coruña
While Milei's visit dominated headlines, Abascal found himself at the center of tensions in A Coruña, in the northwestern region of Galicia, where he was giving a speech on Wednesday.
A protest organized by the Socialist Youth, the PSOE's youth wing, along with members of Galiza Nova, the youth wing of the Galician nationalist BNG, began peacefully. Demonstrators chanted "They shall not pass," the anti-fascist slogan made famous during the Spanish Civil War.
But tensions boiled over as the event ended, with eggs and other objects thrown at the police cordon.
Abascal described the protest as "coercion" and said Galicia remained a "thorn in the side" for Vox, calling on supporters to mobilize in the name of "freedom." He also attacked Sánchez, branding him a "traitor" and a "careerist" over the government's handling of the situation in Ceuta, the Spanish enclave on the North African coast bordering Morocco.
The episode underscores the deep political polarization in Spain, which has become a battleground for Europe's ideological struggles. Sánchez's embrace of the "lefty" label is a calculated move to rally his base ahead of the election, while Milei's visit serves as a rallying point for the right.
As the two leaders trade barbs, the broader implications for European politics are clear: the clash between progressive and hard-right forces is no longer confined to national borders. With Spain's pension funding debate heating up and Sánchez hitting back at EU critics over migration, the prime minister is positioning himself as a defender of European social democracy against a rising tide of right-wing populism.
Whether that strategy resonates with voters remains to be seen, but for now, Sánchez is making it clear that he will not back down from a fight — even with a foreign leader who calls him a dictator.
