Would a chainsaw-wielding, self-proclaimed anarcho-capitalist make a good British prime minister?
Depends who you ask, apparently. Kemi Badenoch, leader of the Conservative Party, recently said she would like to emulate Argentina’s President, Javier Milei, in reviving both Britain’s stagnant economy and her party’s ailing political fortunes. It is a striking comparison, and a terrible idea, with the unique quality of being both deeply unpopular and profoundly damaging for Britain.
Javier Milei was elected president of Argentina in 2023 amid a national crisis. Rampant inflation, debt, and years of economic mismanagement had left voters desperate for change. Milei, an eccentric libertarian economist known for brandishing a chainsaw at rallies, promised to slash the state and cut spending.
This worked, inflation eased and investors cautiously reopened their wallets. Yet two years on, progress has stalled. While inflation is far below its 2023 peak, it remains at stratospheric levels by international standards. Meanwhile, the damage from this austerity shock is clear: poverty has risen, and factories have scaled back production as demand has collapsed. Milei himself warned that things would get worse before they got better, but by now they should have begun to improve. Instead, Argentina has had to rely on emergency support from the United States to stay afloat. The gamble is turning sour.
That is only the first problem with using Milei as a political template. The second is his heavy-handed governing style and divisive rhetoric. Milei has ruled largely through presidential decree, testing the limits of his constitutional powers and attacking democratic institutions in the process. He has pursued measures to prosecute protestors and shuttered news agencies over alleged bias. His social views are deeply conservative, including staunch opposition to abortion. On top of this sits his increasingly toxic rhetoric, hurling insults that make even Donald Trump seem restrained. Having lost focus on economic reform, Milei appears to have leaned fully into his role as a polarising figure.
Badenoch’s admiration, then, says a lot about her political instincts. The UK faces nothing comparable to the crisis Argentina has found itself in. Inflation is elevated but stable, public debt is high but manageable, and the pound is hardly collapsing. After more than a decade of austerity, Britain does not have the incredibly bloated public sector Argentina had. Essential services have already been stripped to the bone. In addition, welfare expectations in the UK are entrenched; former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Nigel Lawson, famously said that “the NHS is the closest thing the English people have to a religion.”
Even the most popular politician would not dare to bring a chainsaw anywhere near it. One of Milei’s only real successes, taming inflation, is not relevant to Britain and is not the government’s job anyway; that responsibility falls to the Bank of England. His other achievement, sweeping spending cuts, was far easier to carry out in Argentina than it ever could be in Britain, given the sheer size and inefficiency of Argentina’s old public sector.
Kemi Badenoch cannot go wild, with a chainsaw, and expect Britain to emerge intact, much less thriving. A slower, better-planned fiscal consolidation would be sensible, but importing Milei’s methods would cause far more harm than good, and could not be done on the same scale without dismantling cherished institutions.
The political logic for Kemi Badenoch doesn’t add up. Embracing Milei’s populist theatrics would not reinvigorate the Tories. Reform has a head start and has mastered that art. Kemi Badenoch has, until now, tried to cultivate an image of competence and pragmatism. Positioning the Conservatives as saner and more pragmatic than Reform, more competent than Labour. Invoking Milei undermines that effort. He is not known for being particularly sane, and he neither compromises nor acts pragmatically. His politics have strained Argentina’s institutions and divided its society. It is difficult to see how aligning with that brand of politics makes Badenoch appear competent and capable of turning around the Conservatives’ decline.
Ultimately, what saved Argentina from the precipice of collapse will not be beneficial in Britain. The British public may be weary of high taxes and low growth, but they are not about to elect someone promising that things will get worse before they get better.
The Conservatives’ problem is not a lack of populist energy, but an absence of credibility. Turning to populism by emulating Javier Milei would, therefore, not only be bad for Britain but could also be another step back for the Conservative Party.
“Milei y Elon Musk con una motosierra” by Argentina.gob is licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Like this:
Like Loading...
Related
A Chainsaw Wielding Maniac is, Surprisingly, not What Britain Needs
Would a chainsaw-wielding, self-proclaimed anarcho-capitalist make a good British prime minister?
Depends who you ask, apparently. Kemi Badenoch, leader of the Conservative Party, recently said she would like to emulate Argentina’s President, Javier Milei, in reviving both Britain’s stagnant economy and her party’s ailing political fortunes. It is a striking comparison, and a terrible idea, with the unique quality of being both deeply unpopular and profoundly damaging for Britain.
Javier Milei was elected president of Argentina in 2023 amid a national crisis. Rampant inflation, debt, and years of economic mismanagement had left voters desperate for change. Milei, an eccentric libertarian economist known for brandishing a chainsaw at rallies, promised to slash the state and cut spending.
This worked, inflation eased and investors cautiously reopened their wallets. Yet two years on, progress has stalled. While inflation is far below its 2023 peak, it remains at stratospheric levels by international standards. Meanwhile, the damage from this austerity shock is clear: poverty has risen, and factories have scaled back production as demand has collapsed. Milei himself warned that things would get worse before they got better, but by now they should have begun to improve. Instead, Argentina has had to rely on emergency support from the United States to stay afloat. The gamble is turning sour.
That is only the first problem with using Milei as a political template. The second is his heavy-handed governing style and divisive rhetoric. Milei has ruled largely through presidential decree, testing the limits of his constitutional powers and attacking democratic institutions in the process. He has pursued measures to prosecute protestors and shuttered news agencies over alleged bias. His social views are deeply conservative, including staunch opposition to abortion. On top of this sits his increasingly toxic rhetoric, hurling insults that make even Donald Trump seem restrained. Having lost focus on economic reform, Milei appears to have leaned fully into his role as a polarising figure.
Badenoch’s admiration, then, says a lot about her political instincts. The UK faces nothing comparable to the crisis Argentina has found itself in. Inflation is elevated but stable, public debt is high but manageable, and the pound is hardly collapsing. After more than a decade of austerity, Britain does not have the incredibly bloated public sector Argentina had. Essential services have already been stripped to the bone. In addition, welfare expectations in the UK are entrenched; former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Nigel Lawson, famously said that “the NHS is the closest thing the English people have to a religion.”
Even the most popular politician would not dare to bring a chainsaw anywhere near it. One of Milei’s only real successes, taming inflation, is not relevant to Britain and is not the government’s job anyway; that responsibility falls to the Bank of England. His other achievement, sweeping spending cuts, was far easier to carry out in Argentina than it ever could be in Britain, given the sheer size and inefficiency of Argentina’s old public sector.
Kemi Badenoch cannot go wild, with a chainsaw, and expect Britain to emerge intact, much less thriving. A slower, better-planned fiscal consolidation would be sensible, but importing Milei’s methods would cause far more harm than good, and could not be done on the same scale without dismantling cherished institutions.
The political logic for Kemi Badenoch doesn’t add up. Embracing Milei’s populist theatrics would not reinvigorate the Tories. Reform has a head start and has mastered that art. Kemi Badenoch has, until now, tried to cultivate an image of competence and pragmatism. Positioning the Conservatives as saner and more pragmatic than Reform, more competent than Labour. Invoking Milei undermines that effort. He is not known for being particularly sane, and he neither compromises nor acts pragmatically. His politics have strained Argentina’s institutions and divided its society. It is difficult to see how aligning with that brand of politics makes Badenoch appear competent and capable of turning around the Conservatives’ decline.
Ultimately, what saved Argentina from the precipice of collapse will not be beneficial in Britain. The British public may be weary of high taxes and low growth, but they are not about to elect someone promising that things will get worse before they get better.
The Conservatives’ problem is not a lack of populist energy, but an absence of credibility. Turning to populism by emulating Javier Milei would, therefore, not only be bad for Britain but could also be another step back for the Conservative Party.
“Milei y Elon Musk con una motosierra” by Argentina.gob is licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Share this:
Like this:
Related