{"id":46822,"date":"2023-11-12T08:11:17","date_gmt":"2023-11-12T08:11:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/innodebt.com\/business\/a-normal-guy-argentinas-radical-milei-struggles-to-rebrand-for-run-off-vote\/"},"modified":"2023-11-12T08:11:17","modified_gmt":"2023-11-12T08:11:17","slug":"a-normal-guy-argentinas-radical-milei-struggles-to-rebrand-for-run-off-vote","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/innodebt.com\/?p=46822","title":{"rendered":"\u2018A normal guy\u2019: Argentina\u2019s radical Milei struggles to rebrand for run-off vote"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Libertarian economist Javier Milei powered through the early stages of Argentina\u2019s presidential election on the strength of a radical plan, an eccentric persona, and a chainsaw.<\/p>\n

Milei wielded the tool for dramatic photo opportunities to evoke his plans to \u201ctake a chainsaw\u201d to the state. But facing a final run-off poll on November 19 in which moderate voters will be key to defeating economy minister Sergio Massa, Milei has been forced to attempt a rebrand.<\/p>\n

Now, the chainsaw appears to have been put away for a while. The former tantric sex coach and cosplay enthusiast, who also exchanged insults with the Pope ahead of the first round, is trying to recalibrate his anti-establishment message into a blander promise of change.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis election is about whether or not we want to stay on the path we\u2019re on,\u201d he told supporters last week. \u201cWith Massa we already know where we\u2019re going: more populism, more inflation, more corruption and more privileges for his friends.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Milei, a\u00a0first-term congressman, emerged as the frontrunner in Argentina\u2019s elections in August after promising to heavily cut spending, \u201cburn down the central bank\u201d to dollarise the economy, and replace the Argentine peso, which he labelled \u201cworth less than excrement\u201d, with the US dollar.<\/p>\n

But last month he scored a disappointing first-round election result, winning 30 per cent of the vote, below pollsters\u2019 expectations and behind 37 per cent for Massa of the centre-left Peronist government. <\/p>\n

<\/source><\/source>\"Supporters<\/picture>
Moderate voters will be key in the final run-off poll on November 19 against economy minister Sergio Massa<\/span> \u00a9 Anita Pouchard Serra\/Bloomberg<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Massa, for his part, is seeking favour with centrist voters, despite overseeing annual inflation topping 138 per cent and the plummeting of the Argentine peso on parallel exchange markets. Massa has doubled down on an earlier promise to build a unity government that will normalise Argentina\u2019s economy without endangering its welfare state.<\/p>\n

At Milei\u2019s rallies and in his ads in recent weeks, once-prominent images of burning buildings and power tools have been largely replaced by Argentine flags. The unmarried candidate, whose four dogs have regularly featured in Argentine media, has increasingly brought his actress girlfriend F\u00e1tima Florez to public appearances.<\/p>\n

Milei has also avoided speaking about Pope Francis, whom he labelled a \u201cfilthy leftist\u201d before the first round, prompting the pontiff to allude to him in an interview last month as a \u201cclown of messianism\u201d.<\/p>\n

Milei has been aided in his bid to reach centrist voters by Mauricio Macri, Argentina\u2019s former centre-right president, and Patricia Bullrich, the now-eliminated presidential candidate for the centre-right coalition Juntos por el Cambio.<\/p>\n

Both have urged the 24 per cent of the electorate that backed Bullrich in October to vote for Milei.<\/p>\n

Guillermo Francos, Milei\u2019s would-be interior minister, said their support was \u201cvery important\u201d. \u201cTogether [Bullrich and Milei] represent the will of the great majority of the Argentine people,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are now able to say to them very clearly that they must vote for the ticket that represents the ideas of freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n

Juan Negri, politics professor at Buenos Aires\u2019 Torcuato Di Tella University, said the alliance might assuage voters\u2019 doubts about Milei, who has no executive experience. \u201cIt suggests that former Macri officials would find their way into Milei\u2019s government, so it normalises him for voters.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Milei\u2019s transition from radical outsider had not been smooth, he added. \u201cThe terms of the election are different now, and Milei looks very uncomfortable. The need to moderate requires twisting himself into endless contradictions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Milei has said he will not abandon his flagship promise to dollarise the economy to stamp out inflation. But he has tried to play down the impact of his drastic spending cuts on retirees and users of Argentina\u2019s highly subsidised public transit \u2014 a key attack line for Massa.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not going to take measures that hurt people,\u201d Milei said Monday.<\/p>\n

Yet Milei\u2019s attempt to win over centre-right Bullrich voters has left some unconvinced. \u201cI can never vote for Massa, but Milei is also unthinkable,\u201d said Daniel, a 29-year-old barista. \u201cThe change he has spent all year talking about is a crazy change, and now he wants to be a normal guy\u2009.\u2009.\u2009.\u2009I don\u2019t know what to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/source><\/source>\"Argentine<\/picture>
At Milei\u2019s rallies and in his ads in recent weeks, once-prominent images of burning buildings and power tools have been largely replaced by Argentine flags<\/span> \u00a9 Luis Robayo\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Milei lacks the slickness of a career politician. In one widely shared clip, he appeared rattled as he stopped an interview to demand that staff behind the camera be quiet.\u00a0In another interview last week, his answers strayed into academic tangents about the economy and doom-laden warnings.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like the myth about a man who stays in the cave, where there are no dangerous bugs, but there is also no food. So he dies,\u201d he said. \u201cMassa\u2019s model will kill him. So we have [a choice between] a model where you are going to die, or you have a chance to save yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Milei\u2019s party, La Libertad Avanza, has also struggled to maintain campaign discipline among members, many of them libertarian thinkers who only recently joined the two-year-old bloc.\u00a0It has cut the number of spokespeople authorised to speak on the record, in an attempt to avoid headline-grabbing controversial statements. <\/p>\n

However, would-be foreign minister Diana Mondino gave an interview earlier this month in which she compared same-sex marriage to having lice, saying: \u201cIf you prefer to not wash and end up covered in nits, that\u2019s your choice. After, you can\u2019t complain that someone else doesn\u2019t like that you have nits.\u201d<\/p>\n

In early November, the Macri endorsement prompted one of the fewer than 40 elected congressional representatives for Milei\u2019s party to quit the group.<\/p>\n

Despite those challenges, analysts said Milei\u2019s attempt at moderation was unlikely to cost him too many of his first-round voters, who seemed unwilling to switch to Massa.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt could hurt a small part of his electorate, but it\u2019s the best way to win over Bullrich\u2019s 24 per cent and part of the 7 per cent who voted for [C\u00f3rdoba governor Juan] Schiaretti,\u201d said Juan Germano, director of pollster Isonomia. \u201cIt\u2019s the right move.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read the full article here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Libertarian economist Javier Milei powered through the early stages of Argentina\u2019s presidential election on the strength of a radical plan, an eccentric persona, and a chainsaw. Milei wielded the tool for dramatic photo opportunities to evoke his plans to \u201ctake a chainsaw\u201d to the state. But facing a final run-off poll on November 19 in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-46822","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-business"},"yoast_head":"\n\u2018A normal guy\u2019: Argentina\u2019s radical Milei struggles to rebrand for run-off vote | Innodebt<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Libertarian economist Javier Milei powered through the early stages of Argentina\u2019s presidential election on the strength of a radical plan, an eccentric\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/innodebt.com\/?p=46822\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" 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