Argentine president makes peace with sweet offering to countryman Pope Francis

Pope Francis greets Argentine president Javier Milei at the Vatican – VATICAN MEDIA/REUTERS

Argentina’s president has buried the hatchet with Pope Francis, describing the pontiff as “the most important Argentine” and beaming as he gifted his countryman pastries.

The meeting at the Vatican on Monday morning marked a radical U-turn from Javier Milei, who previously launched outspoken attacks on the pontiff for his support of LGBT rights and social justice.

On the campaign trail, Mr Milei, a brash economic libertarian, notoriously even called Pope Francis a “representative of evil” and an “imbecile” who “promotes communism”.

But both men appear to have put their differences behind them after Mr Milei was granted a one-hour private meeting, with the pair smiling broadly for the cameras beforehand.

Mr Milei and his sister Karina Elizabeth chat with the Pope – Vatican Pool/Getty Images

Mr Milei, 53, even gifted the pontiff alfajores, a soft crumbly melt-in-your-mouth Argentine caramelised milk biscuit, before inviting him to visit his homeland in the second half of the year.

As the country’s only ever Pope, the former archbishop of Buenos Aires, remains massively influential in Argentina, even among conservative Catholics who may disagree with some of the pontiff’s more progressive views on social issues.

But he has yet to visit Argentina since being anointed in 2013, reportedly concerned about the way such a papal visit might be used politically in a society sharply polarised between conservatives, now including Mr Milei, and the leftist legacy of former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.

Mr Milei, meanwhile, is running into political headwinds in Argentina just two months into his presidency.

‘Positive relationship’

Congress has rejected much of his austerity package. His popularity has fallen 10 points, to the low 40s. Inflation, which he had vowed to tame, has topped 200 per cent.

Many Argentines have taken to the streets to protest Mr Milei’s plans to slash pensions and gut labour rights.

Mr Milei, who claims to be a practising Catholic with a fascination for Judaism, said that he had been forced to “reconsider some positions” regarding the Pope.

Speaking on Italian radio station Rete 4, the president added that he was now building a “positive relationship” with the pontiff.

A papal spokesman said that Pope Francis has a “lot of affection for everyone, so there’s no question about him having any animosity”.

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