Campaign event for Argentina’s Milei ends with skirmishes

Fireworks in Buenos Aires, Flashbacks in Floriana: How Milei’s Rally Chaos Echoes in Malta’s Political Soul
By Maria Vella – Hot Malta Correspondent

BUENOS AIRES—When Argentina’s libertarian firebrand Javier Milei closed his final campaign rally on Thursday night with a shower of gold-and-blue confetti, few expected the night to end in tear-gas and scuffles that would ricochet all the way to a quiet wine bar in Valletta. Yet, by the time the Mediterranean sun rose on Friday, Maltese social media was buzzing with side-by-side clips: Argentine riot police shoving protestors outside the Obelisco, and grainy 2019 footage of Maltese police separating PN and PL supporters on the Floriana granaries.

For an island nation whose own election seasons have often teetered on the edge of theatrics, the skirmishes felt uncomfortably familiar. Milei—an outspoken economist who brandishes a chainsaw on stage to symbolise state-spending cuts—has become an unlikely cult figure among Malta’s younger libertarians, who gather at the Sliema branch of Café du Brazil to stream his rallies live. When the Buenos Aires clashes began, the bar’s projector switched to a Maltese news channel: “Argentina unrest raises question—could it happen here?”

Local context quickly took over. Joseph Muscat’s 2019 resignation had already shown how Maltese politics can combust when economic frustration meets populist rhetoric. Just as Milei channels anger over 140 % inflation, Malta’s own cost-of-living spike—bread up 21 % in two years—has spawned Telegram groups comparing supermarket prices to “Argentine levels.” Friday morning, the Times of Malta letters page featured a retired Gozitan teacher lamenting, “We laugh at Milei’s chainsaw until we realise our own parties promise tax cuts with the same reckless bravado.”

Cultural resonance runs deeper. Maltese festa fireworks may be celebratory, but they share DNA with the Argentine tradition of cacerolazos—pot-banging protests. When Buenos Aires protestors banged pots outside Milei’s rally, Maltese viewers recognised the rhythm from village feasts where rival band clubs once clashed over whose marches would dominate the night. “It’s the same energy,” says Etienne Bezzina, a brass-band leader in Żejtun. “Only the stakes differ—here it’s pride in a saint, there it’s the peso collapsing.”

The community impact is already visible. Saturday’s farmers’ market in Ta’ Qali reported record sales of Argentine empanadas after local chef Marisol Pace posted a TikTok linking Milei’s rally to her grandmother’s exile recipe. “Food is how we process political anxiety,” she tells me while folding dough shaped like the Maltese cross. Meanwhile, University of Malta political-science students have scheduled a public forum titled “Milei, Malta & the Myth of the Outsider,” expecting standing-room only after the Buenos Aires footage went viral among their cohort.

Perhaps most striking is the reaction of Maltese emigrants who once called Argentina home. At the Argentina-Malta Society’s annual barbecue in Marsaxlokk, 78-year-old Tony Zahra recalls sailing to Buenos Aires in 1960. “We took Maltese festa music to San Telmo, but we also brought back the lesson that populists speak loudest when wallets are emptiest,” he says, flipping chorizos beside Maltese rabbit stew. Around him, younger Maltese-Argentines swap WhatsApp voice notes with cousins still queuing for milk in Palermo, creating a trans-Atlantic echo chamber of shared unease.

As Maltese parties gear up for June’s European Parliament election, local analysts warn against importing Milei-style shock tactics. “Our institutions are stronger, but our social fabric is tighter—one smashed shop window in Valletta would feel like ten in Buenos Aires,” notes Dr. Claudia Calleja, a governance lecturer. Still, she concedes, the Argentine footage has already shifted campaign strategies: posters promising “responsible tax cuts” now include QR codes linking to detailed spreadsheets, a direct response to Milei memes mocking vague promises.

By Sunday, the Maltese chatter had moved from outrage to introspection. The Sliema libertarians returned to Café du Brazil, but this time the projector stayed off. Instead, they debated how to channel Milei’s energy without importing his chaos. Over cortados and pastizzi, one student summed up the mood: “Argentina reminds us that when politics becomes a fireworks show, someone always gets burned.”