- Argentina's new president Javier Milei has vowed to get the Falkland Island back
The right-wing former 'tantric sex coach' who has been elected president of Argentina believes the Falkland Islands belong to his nation and has vowed 'to get them back'.
Javier Milei, who uses a medium to communicate with his dead dog for advice on political matters, pulled off a massive upset by beating Argentina's Economy Minister Sergio Massa in Sunday's polarised presidential runoff.
But during his presidential campaign, Milei insisted that Britain returning the Falkland Islands was 'non-negotiable', adding that the territory, known as the Malvinas in Argentina, is Argentine.
Milei, a right-wing economist known as 'el Loco' - or the Madman - who promised to shake-up Argentina with his win, said he would 'make every effort' to get the Falkland Islands back - but stopped short of saying he would go to war over them.
He insisted it was 'non-negotiable' for Britain to hand the Falklands over to Argentina, comparing it to the UK returning Hong Kong to China.
The Falklands were the subject of a short but brutal war after Argentina invaded in 1982. Britain drove out the invaders after dispatching a naval armada, but the issue has never been considered settled in Buenos Aires.
But during his presidential campaign, Milei (pictured with a chainsaw) insisted that Britain returning the Falkland Islands was 'non-negotiable', adding that the territory, known as the Malvinas in Argentina, is Argentine
Pictured: British troops patrol the Falkland Islands last year
Argentina believes the Falklands were illegally taken from it in 1833 and invaded the British colony in 1982. The United Kingdom sent troops and Argentina lost the two-month war for the archipelago in a conflict that claimed the lives of 649 Argentines and 255 British soldiers.
Milei insisted during his presidential campaign, which saw him revving a chainsaw to symbolically cut the state down to size, that questions over the future of the Falkland Islands 'cannot be ignored'.
He said: 'What do I propose? Argentina's sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands is non-negotiable. The Malvinas are Argentine.
'Now we have to see how we are going to get them back. It is clear that the war option is not a solution.
'What we are proposing is to move towards a solution like the one England had with China over the Hong Kong issue and that in this context the position of the people who live on the islands cannot be ignored.
'You cannot deny that those people are there. You cannot disregard those human beings.
'You have to negotiate with Britain and consider the views of the people who live on the islands.
'We are looking for a solution for the Malvinas Islands to return to Argentina through diplomacy, a solution that is viable, that is achievable.'
Milei has previously lauded former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher as one of 'the great leaders in the history of humanity'.
Those comments were condemned by veterans of the Falklands war as Thatcher is still reviled in Argentina for ordering the sinking of the General Belgrano cruiser, killing 323 people on board, during the 1982 war with the UK.
Milei has previously blamed the Argentinian government of making 'a series of errors' that has made the situation even more complicated. In April last year, he said if Argentina wants the Falkland Islands to become Argentinian, it would mean a 'very long negotiation' with Britain.
At the time, he said: 'Argentina never created the conditions for the inhabitants of the Malvinas Islands to want to become Argentines.
'Therefore it is an extremely complicated situation, in which Argentina committed all possible errors, resulting in a stuck and muddy situation. So now it is a counter-factual scenario because of all the errors. It is most complicated.'
He added: 'If we want the Islands to return and become part of Argentina some day, is will mean a long, very long negotiation in which Argentina must propose something interesting.
Conflict: British troops arriving in the Falklands Islands
Milei, who often dresses up as his superhero alter-ego 'General AnCap' which is short for anarcho-capitalist (pictured), made his name furiously denouncing the 'political caste' on television programs
Newly elected President of Argentina Javier Milei of La Libertad Avanza kisses his girlfriend and actress Fatima Florez after the polls closed in the presidential runoff on November 19
And Argentina is not an interesting country, if its own people are choosing to leave the country,' concluded the lawmaker who is now president elect of the nation.
Mondino added that Argentina needed to 'become a normal country' to persuade Islanders to seek closer ties.
'How would anyone not born and bred in Argentina understand [our] inflation?' she said. 'Why would anyone want to become a part of a society – we need to become a normal country, and we're an empty country,' she said.
On Britain's part, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has ruled out opening any new negotiations over the Falklands' future.
Sunak's official spokesman said following Milei's win: 'It's obviously a settled issue, a long settled issue, and we have no plans to revisit it.'
Pressed on suggestions by Mr Milei that a new relationship could be struck similar to that between China and Hong Kong, the PM's spokesman added: 'The position of the Falkland islands was settled some time ago and will not be changed.'
With his victory on Sunday night, Milei has thrust Argentina into the unknown regarding just how extreme his policies will be.
In a speech following his dramatic victory, he vowed that the 'reconstruction of Argentina begins today' while adding he would 'drain the swamp' in reference to stemming the influence of special interests and lobbyists.
Milei, who often dresses up as his superhero alter-ego 'General AnCap' which is short for anarcho-capitalist, made his name furiously denouncing the 'political caste' on television programs.
His pledge for abrupt, severe change resonated with Argentines weary of annual inflation soaring above 140% and a poverty rate that reached 40%. He will take power on December 10.
Milei, who is also a prominent economist and radio chat-show host, has spoken openly about his preference for threesomes and how he enjoys communicating via telepathy with his dead dog for political advice.
He failed to win the primary round of voting ahead of the runoff election, but came in second to Massa in large part due to support from young voters who are so disenchanted with more 'conventional' politicians that they have turned to a man whose recent biography was titled El Loco, or The Madman.
A political unknown until a few years ago, Milei was elected to Argentina's parliament in 2021 as a member of La Libertad Avanza ('Freedom Advances').
He prefers to call himself an anarcho-capitalist, which means he'd like to rip up as much government intervention as he can and leave it all to the free market.
