'Lefty and proud': Spain's Sánchez hits back at Argentina's Milei in Madrid

Javier Milei has again attacked Pedro Sánchez during a visit to Madrid, where he will meet Isabel Díaz Ayuso. Sánchez replied on X, defending his left-wing stance in a fresh war of words between the two leaders. Argentine President Javier Milei lashed out at Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez once again during a visit to Madrid on Wednesday, calling him a "disgraceful dictator" and urging that the Socialists be removed from power "by force". Sánchez responded with a video on X defending his left-wing politics against Milei's derogatory use of the word "lefty". "If raising pensions, increasing the minimum wage or defending the right to abortion means being a lefty, I am a lefty," the Spanish prime minister said, concluding: "Yes, I am a lefty, and proud of it." He also swapped his official portrait on social media for a profile picture bearing the slogan "Lefty and proud" against a red background. Sánchez's Socialist Party (PSOE) joined in, hanging a banner at its headquarters on Madrid's Calle Ferraz to greet the Argentine leader. It reads: "The lefties, men and women, welcome you to Spain". Relations between the two leaders have been strained since May 2024, when Milei, speaking at a rally organised 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 diplomatic crisis between the two countries. Milei is due to meet Isabel Díaz Ayuso, president of the Madrid region and one of the leading figures in the conservative People's Party (PP), Spain's main opposition party, at 17:00 on Wednesday. It will not be their first encounter: in June 2024, at the height of the diplomatic row, Ayuso awarded him the International Medal of the Community of Madrid. No photo with Feijóo or Abascal Whether because of diary clashes or political caution, with the general election on 29 November only weeks away, neither PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo nor Vox leader Santiago Abascal will meet Milei publicly or be photographed with him. Milei and Feijóo have never held a formal meeting, crossing paths only briefly at a handful of public events. Abascal, by contrast, knows Milei well. Both appeared at Vox's Europa Viva 24 rally at Madrid's Palacio de Vistalegre arena, 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. Vox has since joined Orbán's Patriots for Europe group in the European Parliament. Clashes in La Coruña over Abascal rally Although he will not be pictured with Milei, Abascal still found himself at the centre of tensions on Wednesday in A Coruña, in the north-western region of Galicia, where he was giving a speech. A protest organised by the Socialist Youth, the PSOE's youth wing, together 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 mobilise 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. Abascal confirmed there would be no photo with Milei, saying the two would instead meet in private.