THE president of Argentina has endorsed The National's description of him as a "far-right poster boy" as he celebrated reports that he has inspired plans for UK Government cuts.
Javier Milei reshared an article by The National which outlined how the Labour Government is looking to slash thousands of jobs in the public sector – inspired by Milei and fellow far-right poster boy Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) in the US.
“FENÓMENO BARRIAL,” Milei wrote in response (below), which translates to “neighbourhood phenomenon” – signalling that the Argentinian president believes he has inspired Starmer and started a world-wide trend.
FENÓMENO BARRIAL https://t.co/F1oQa6mqTS
— Javier Milei (@JMilei) March 13, 2025
The Argentinian president took office in December 2023, vowing to take his chainsaw to Argentina’s public sector, and he has followed through by dismissing nearly 35,000 state employees in 2024.
The Prime Minister and Rachel Reeves are both said to be looking at similar proposals from the Labour Together think tank, which has close ties to the UK administration, and told The Guardian that it hopes to channel the far-right politicians’ ideas to cut the civil service down but “with a radical centre-left purpose”.
Starmer will use a speech on Thursday to outline the move, claiming in advance that the Civil Service had grown by 130,000 since the Brexit referendum but services had not improved and it was “overstretched, unfocused and unable to deliver the security people need”.
He will take aim at a “cottage industry of checkers and blockers slowing down delivery for working people”, stepping up his criticism of regulation in the UK.
Meanwhile, union leaders have accused Starmer of “using the language of blame” to attack officials and called on him to avoid the “incendiary rhetoric” of Musk’s Doge in the US.
Milei also retweeted posts by various Argentinian accounts on Twitter/X, who reshared The National’s article too.
This includes a post by an account called El fenómeno barrial, who wrote: "The Labour Government of England is thinking of applying a chainsaw plan inspired by Milei and Musk. The world is becoming Milei-ised."
Nuestro presidente @JMilei es un líder mundial en gestión económica, y el mundo COPIA SU PLAN PORQUE ES EFICAZ, se imaginan lo que podría hacer si lo dejan gobernar??. Dejo ésta reflexión para este día. https://t.co/yAhHHC6Vaj
— Juliana Santillán Juárez Brahím (@SantilanJuli223) March 13, 2025
He also reshared a post from Juliana Santillán Juárez Brahím, an Argentinian politician from his party, which said: "Our president Milei is a world leader in economic management, and the world copies his plan because it is effective. Imagine what he could do if they let him govern. I leave this thought for the day."
However, the Prime Minister’s press secretary hit back at claims the Government’s project had been given the "chainsaw" name.
She told reporters: “We reject that juvenile characterisation. As the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster [Pat McFadden] set out this weekend, it is not about slashing the state, it is about reshaping the state so it works for working people.”
Technology Secretary Peter Kyle also denied that the Government’s plans to reform the civil service were comparable to the Donald Trump administration’s Doge.
He told LBC: “This is a disruptive programme. But it is a programme that will positively disrupt and we want to lead people through it.
“We don’t want to scare people with the prospect of change, we want to excite people with the prospect of change.”
