20 November 2023 , 20:16
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First it was Donald Trump who was the world’s most maverick leader. Then Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s controversial far-right president dubbed ‘Trump on steroids’, came along. But neither come close to Argentina’s new leader, Javier Milei, for sheer off-the-scale wackiness.
Even the legions of fans who got the rank outsider elected on Saturday call him The Crazy One – for more than a few reasons. He’s also known as The Wig due to his unruly mop of Austin Powers-like hair. But Javier prefers to call himself The Lion.
The right-wing populist will take charge of South America’s second-largest economy next month after winning 55.8% of the vote in a pledge to take a “chainsaw” to state spending. And to make his point, he turns up at rallies waving a real chainsaw.
The message appealed to millions who are desperate for change. Once one of the world’s richest countries, annual inflation in Argentina stands at over 115%, while 40% of the 48 million population live in poverty. “Today is the end of Argentina’s decline,” Milei, 53, told supporters – who often wear hats bearing the words Make Argentina Great Again – following his shock win.
Milei with girlfriend Fatima Florez (Getty Images)Pledging swift and radical changes, such as adopting the US dollar as the national currency, he said: “Argentina is in a critical situation. The changes our country needs are drastic. There is no room for gradualism.” It’s a promise tantalising enough for most voters to forgive the former economist and chat show host some of his eyebrow-raising eccentricities.
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He has said he hears “voices”, communicates with his dead dog through a medium, and that it was his deceased pet who told him to run for president. Milei, who once fronted a Rolling Stones tribute band, has admitted having an unhappy childhood with his housewife mum and bus driver dad, once saying he regard his parents as “dead to me”.
Milei was once in a Rolling Stones tribute band (AFP via Getty Images)After studying as an economist he came to prominence five years ago on a daytime TV chat show, where his brazen political opinions – and boasts about his sex life – bolstered audience figures. He is now dating Fatima Florez, a comedian who impersonates the former president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. However, he has vowed to make his beloved younger sister Karina the country’s First Lady.
But he admits that it is his dogs he loves the most. When English mastiff Conan died in 2017 he was so devastated he paid around $50,000 (£39,980) to clone the dog using his DNA. It produced five puppies, who he calls his “four-legged children”, who he is said to seek advice from on matters of campaigning and policy. He also believes he and Conan met in a previous life more than 2,000 years ago as a gladiator and lion in the Roman Colosseum.
An English Mastiff (Getty Images/iStockphoto)The absurdity could be endearing if he hadn’t just been handed the keys to Buenos Aires’ presidential palace – and many worry about what he does next. He has declared he supports the organ trade, calling it “just another market”. When asked if he supports the sale of children he replied: “It depends”. He also pledged to curb abortion, rejected climate science as a “socialist conspiracy” and criticised the Pope.
On one issue, however, he seems surprisingly level-headed. Asked about the Falklands, he said: “It has to be a solution that satisfies [the UK], Argentina and those who live on the islands.” A confessed Anglophile, he provoked anger among veterans of the 1982 war by gushing about Margaret Thatcher. It hasn’t stopped observers worrying what damage Milei might inflict.
“This man wakes up each day, does medium sessions with the dogs, and then makes a decree based on that,” said Argentinian journalist Juan Luis Gonzalez. “It’s very shocking.”