Argentine president's first Germany visit scaled back

Javier Milei's planned inaugural visit as Argentine president to Germany this weekend has been significantly scaled back, with military honors and a joint press conference with Chancellor Olaf Scholz both cancelled, the German government announced on Friday.

Last week, German officials had described Argentina as "one of Germany's most important economic partners in Latin America" when detailing the agenda for Milei's visit. However, it has now been changed to a "very short working visit" lasting only around an hour, according to German government spokesman Stefen Hebestreit.

While talks between Milei and Chancellor Scholz will still take place, the military honors and a joint press appearance with the German leader have been removed from the program at the request of the Argentine delegation. Hebestreit noted that since taking office, Milei "has given very few press conferences."

There is speculation that the request to shorten the visit may be related to Hebestreit's previous criticism of Milei's remarks about the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's wife. Milei sparked a diplomatic row with Spain after he called Sanchez's wife "corrupt" during a conference in Madrid in May.

Sanchez had faced a preliminary corruption investigation earlier this year over allegations that his wife Begona Gomez used her position to exert improper influence, though the Spanish leader dismissed these claims as a smear campaign.

Despite the controversies surrounding the Argentine president, Hebestreit insisted that Chancellor Scholz was right to engage with Milei. The German leader "meets with many heads of state and government. Some people are closer to him in terms of content and some are further away, but it's still right to talk to each other," he said.

During his truncated visit to Germany, Milei will receive an award from the Friedrich August von Hayek Society, a group that promotes libertarian ideals but has faced criticism for including supporters of Germany's far-right AfD party among its members.

Milei is also scheduled to travel to Madrid on Friday to receive another award, with Spain urging him to show "respect" if he visits, likely in reference to his previous comments about the Spanish Prime Minister's wife.