Most politicians are attention-seekers, much like other workers in the entertainment industry (although now we demand moral rectitude from artists that we exempt politicians from). Félix Romeo wrote that Hugo Chávez, unlike classic tyrants who sought to provoke fear – such as Stalin or Franco – was the first humorous dictator in history. Argentine President Javier Milei belongs to the lineage of contemporary leaders who reject poetic decorum, with the most famous representative being Donald Trump. Milei does not speak as expected of someone in his position. He exemplifies Salman Rushdie’s observation: Shamelessness is the most effective public weapon of our time. Although Pedro Sánchez does not have Milei’s disruptive manners and normally cultivates a more institutional air, he also practices what Víctor Vázquez has called the politics of post-shame: perhaps the clearest example was the contrite letter where he announced five days of reflection.
It is discourteous to go to a country and insult the President of that nation and his family. Other actions of the Spanish government towards the Argentine President were also not edifying: not congratulating him on winning the elections, stating that his is a government of hatred (as Yolanda Díaz did) or suggesting that he was drugged (as Óscar Puente did). But that does not excuse bad behavior. The charade benefits both entertainers: Milei can create fireworks and Sánchez obtains a story for the European elections, which also discomforts the Popular Party. If his presidency, as Ramón González Férriz has written, is somewhat like a Netflix series, this diplomatic conflict offers a new plot. It is an upward trajectory. Among the problems he has set out to solve are the Catalan crisis, child poverty, and housing. On the verge of achieving peace in the Middle East (while his second vice president repeats a slogan, “Palestine will be free from the river to the sea,” which calls for the destruction of Israel) but unable to pass budgets and advance laws in Parliament, he has realized that his usual campaign adversary, Vox, is old news and insignificant: now it is Sánchez against the international far-right. Possibly, after the European elections, the threat will be intergalactic. The object that crossed the sky of our country on Sunday may be a warning. The president’s adversary must be increasingly larger, because his credit is decreasing.
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