Argentine President Javier Milei continues his European tour. After Spain on Friday, the far-right president has been in Germany since Saturday June 22, where he will be received during the day by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, to talk about free trade and lithium. This visit raises eyebrows in the country, so much so that the visit was transformed into a simple working meeting.
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Was German Chancellor Olaf Scholz really supposed to receive Javier Milei? The question arose in Germany while the Argentine president far-right did not meet Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, Friday, during his visit to Spain. If the German Chancellor decided otherwise, it is in particular because of the economic issues that link Germany and Argentina, reports our correspondent in Berlin, Delphine Nerbollier. Even if everything seems to oppose the two men. The ultraliberal Javier Milei campaigned with a chainsaw in his hand, promising a clean cut in all public services, while Olaf Scholz is a quiet German social democrat.
Until then, during his mandate, Javier Milei had also preferred to meet the sulphurous boss of Tesla Elon Musk and the former American president Donald Trump, rather than his main commercial partners from Brazil and Chile, two countries led by the LEFT.
But Javier Milei and Olaf Scholz both firmly believe in the free trade treaty supposed to bring the European Union (EU) and Mercosur (the alliance between Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay) closer together. . This project is at a standstill, notably since the angry movement of European farmersbut also due to the environmental concerns of EU member states and of Brazilian civil society.
The controversies sparked by the far-right Argentine president could make the case for this agreement worse. Javier Milei sparked a diplomatic crisis with Spain after calling the wife of socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez a “ corrupt woman » during a visit to the Iberian country. Spain withdrew its ambassador from Buenos Aires and Javier Milei attacked Pedro Sánchez once again during his visit on Friday June 21.
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A story of lithium
In the meantime, trade ties between the two countries remain weak. L’Germany has certainly exported more than $3 billion in goods to Argentina in 2022, mainly medicines and automotive products, but Europe is only a marginal market for Argentina. And this, far behind its partners on the American continent and China.
This may change in the future: Argentinian soil is full of lithium, which the German automotive industry badly needs to ensure its transition to electric. This is also one of the elements which surely weighed in the balance to convince the German Chancellor to be convinced to receive Javier Milei.
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However, protest voices have been raised, and various organizations are calling on Berlin not to conclude an economic agreement with Javier Milei without obtaining guarantees for human rights and the environment in return.
Faced with a difficult partner, it was therefore decided at the chancellery to scale back and remain discreet. There will be no military ceremony this Sunday, June 23. Officially, it is just a working meeting. At the request of the Argentine leader, there will also be no press conference.
A one-hour working visit
“ Since taking office, Mr. Milei has given very few press conferences (…) We finally complied with his wishes “, justified Steffen Hebestreit, the spokesperson for the German government. “ It is a very short working visit, which, in accordance with the wishes of the Argentine President, will last an hour “, he added. Perhaps the Germans were burned by the Argentine leader’s outings during his visit to Spain. The president took the opportunity to make a dig at Pedro Sánchez, the Prime Minister, a former economist, of whom he said that “ clearly, although he studied economics, he either didn’t understand or he really loves the state “.
Samstag of Argentinian President Javier #Milei auf Einladung der AfD-nahen Hayek-Gesellschaft nach Hamburg. Wir finden: Dieser Präsident hat in unserer Stadt nichts zu suchen!
🪧Come on for a Demo on Saturday! pic.twitter.com/Y03DhMj9x1— DIE LINKE. Hamburg (@DieLinke_HH) June 20, 2024
In Germany, on the ground, the visit was accompanied by demonstrations in Hamburg on Saturday. Javier Milei received a prize from the Friedrich von Hayek Foundation, classified as neoliberal and close to the German populist right. Outside, it was time for protests by German left-wing groupswho came to demonstrate their opposition to the arrival of the Argentine president, reported the German radio and television channel Deutsche Welle.
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