After a visit to Israel, the new Argentine President Javier Milei went to Italy for his first trip to Europe. Diplomatic reconciliation with Pope Francis and strategic rapprochement with Giorgia Meloni, the Italian Prime Minister.
Despite their rocky start, Argentine President Javier Milei and Pope Francis appeared to hit it off during their first meeting on Monday in Rome, amid speculation that the Argentine pontiff could travel to his homeland for a more late this year.
The Vatican said the two men met for an hour and 10 minutes, an unusually long audience by Francis’ standards, especially since no translation was required. Video from the Vatican later showed a smiling Francis briefly grabbing Javier Milei’s arm for support as they walked toward his office.
A very diplomatic return to favor for the new far-right president: during his electoral campaign, the Argentine leader had not only criticized the Pope, considered far too left-wing, but he had also called Francis an “imbecile”.
“One of the things I understood, among other things, is that the pope is the Argentine who is the most important person in the country,” Javier Milei later said in an interview broadcast by the Italian channel Retequattro.
In substance, points of view remain very divergent between the two leaders, particularly on eradicating poverty in Argentina. Javier Milei, a self-proclaimed libertarian and anarcho-capitalist, is promising a wave of unprecedented austerity measures to revive the Argentine economy. The pope, for his part, was content to deplore the prolonged economic crisis in his country.
Later on Monday, Javier Milei also met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and President Sergio Mattarella.
A visit which was not only formal. Sharing many views with her Argentine counterpart, Giorgia Meloni wrote on X that they discussed strengthening economic ties in the energy, infrastructure and agribusiness sectors.
Javier Milei arrived in Rome last Friday after a visit to Israel where he spent time with the Argentine community.