A fascinating piece on Unherd. Extracts:

“This mercurial loner, who once sang in a Rolling Stones covers band, is engaged in a high-risk gamble: to shake his country out of its decades-long stupor by slashing subsidies, sacking public servants, scrapping taxes, shutting ministries, ripping up regulations and privatising scores of state enterprises from airlines and banks through to football clubs and waterways. He has rattled his many foes, who often write him off as a political joke or a poisonous far-Right populist. But as he comes up to the first anniversary of his ascent to power, Milei can point to significant successes in curbing the curse of inflation and shrinking the state…”

This wildly-eccentric yet fiercely-ideological politician knows how to attract attention. During his election campaign, Milei’s interview with Tucker Carlson received 300m views in 24 hours. Musk was among those sharing it on social media, saying it showed how “government overspending, which is the fundamental cause of inflation, has wrecked countless countries”. After his victory, Milei flew to Davos where he argued that the West was in danger from dark forces such as feminism, [J4MB emphasis – spot on!!!] socialism and environmentalism putting its values in jeopardy from a vision “that inexorably leads to socialism and thereby to poverty”. Last month, the 54-year-old firebrand became the first foreign leader to visit Trump after his presidential victory — his attacks on the state, its political sinecures and power hubs have made him a hero among many US conservatives and members of the MAGA crowd…

Others rail against his weaponising of the culture wars and his direct appeal to angry young men frustrated by feminism. One of Milei’s first edicts was to end use of gender-neutral language in government and many of his young and liberal supporters loathe his anti-abortion stance and ambivalence over their nation’s military past.” 

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