You almost have to feel sorry for the ABC. Almost.
After all, how are they supposed to spin the distressing (to the luvvie collective) news that the wicked ‘far-right’ is out there, winning yet another round of elections? I know! declares Felicity Hasbeen-Hack (they/them) of the Ultimo Collective. ‘Let’s make it all about the Bad Orange Man!’ Cue relieved laughter and the clink of almond-milk latte Keep Cups.
Dutifully, the following report from the ABC mentions Trump no less than five times, guaranteed to keep the Boomers who still follow the ABC soiling their Depends in Trump-deranged fury.
Meanwhile, Milei just keeps on winning.
Argentina’s libertarian President Javier Milei has won decisive victories in the midterm elections, clinching a crucial vote of confidence that strengthens his ability to carry out his radical free-market experiment with billions of dollars in backing from the US administration.
In the Sunday election widely seen as a referendum on Mr Milei’s past two years in office, his upstart La Libertad Avanza party scored more than 40 per cent of votes compared with 31 per cent for the left-leaning populist opposition movement, known as Peronism, exceeding analysts’ projections.
Mr Milei, a key ideological ally of US President Donald Trump, said his party and allied blocs picked up 14 seats in the Senate and 64 in the lower house of Congress, bolstering the government’s support in the legislature enough to uphold presidential vetoes and block impeachment efforts.
Astonishingly, the ABC somehow forgot to slip ‘far right’ anywhere in their report. It appears that they’ve finally reached the last stage of grief that decades of socialism in Argentina are finally being purged.
“The Argentine people have decided to leave behind 100 years of decadence,” Mr Milei said as his supporters cheered, referring to a succession of Peronist governments that brought Argentina infamy for its inflationary spirals.
“Today, we have passed the turning point. Today we begin the construction of a great Argentina.”
In no doubt an existential shock to the ABC luvvies, who once implored Hugo Chavez to come to Australia. Peronism, Argentina’s particular brand of “national socialism” (as Peron himself described it), is fast being swept away by economic liberalism.
The results showed Milei’s young libertarian party gaining support across the country, including in some surprising corners that have long been under the sway of Peronism.
In the closely watched Buenos Aires province, a Peronist stronghold home to nearly 40 per cent of the electorate, La Libertad Avanza eked out a razor-thin victory Sunday.
Just last month, the Peronists beat Milei’s party there by a whopping 14 percentage points.
The result is even stronger than polls had predicted, lending further legitimacy to Milei’s reform program and boosting Argentina’s economic turnaround even further.
Market analysts expected Argentine bonds and the peso to rally when trading opened on Monday, reflecting relief that Mr Milei still has political traction.
The US announced a $US20bn ($30bn) currency swap this month to prop up Argentina’s currency and promised to raise another $US20bn from private banks and sovereign wealth funds […]
Mr Milei’s party entered the vote with just 37 deputies and six senators, around 15 per cent of congress and 10 per cent of the Senate, respectively. The midterm gains leave him still far from a majority but enough to give him effective veto power over hostile legislation.
Analysts say holding one-third of either chamber is crucial for sustaining his presidential decrees and fending off attempts by the opposition to reverse his fiscal agenda.
The next crucial step for Milei’s revolution is when the benefits of the economic turnaround begin to flow more tangibly to voters. Inflation has been slashed dramatically, but that’s just the start. After the pain, must come at least some gain.
Meanwhile, Milei isn’t losing his signature style. In a recent TV interview, he was asked why he kept calling his opponents ‘shit leftists’. “Because they are shit!”
