MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Milei and Alberto Fernández meet for two and a half hours

“What I talked with him remains between him and me,” Fernández said in a post-meeting interview

Argentine President Alberto Fernández finally met Tuesday with his elected successor the Libertarian Javier Milei to officially kick off the transition toward the Dec. 10 inauguration. “The meeting took place at the Olivos presidential residence to initiate the institutional transition process between the teams appointed by both in the different areas of government,” Presidential Spokeswoman Gabriela Cerruti wrote on social media.

 Fernández and Milei spoke for two and a half hours in a “friendly, respectful, and institutional” encounter during which they went over “State issues and the international agenda” so that liaison teams in all areas could begin working. At the meeting, it was agreed that Deputy Cabinet Chief Juan Manuel Olmos, and Nicolás Posse, who was announced Monday as Milei's next Cabinet Chief, would coordinate the transition in all areas.

After the meeting, Fernández told Colombian TV station NTN24 that he did not feel “responsible for the defeat” of Unión por la Patria. “Our space must rethink things,” he reckoned. “It is evident that we have not been able to tune in with many people, because this is a government that has gone through four years of many problems. I am calling for reflection, I am not looking for culprits.”

Regarding Milei, Fernández admitted that “I do not share many of his views, but if he does well, Argentina does well, and I do not want to be an obstacle.” But “what I talked with him remains between him and me,” he added.

Milei's “Office of the President-Elect” said on the @OPEArg account on X that “This morning President-Elect Javier Milei met with Alberto Fernández, current President of the Republic. Since then, the technical teams are initiating conversations with all areas of the National Cabinet in order to undertake an orderly and responsible transition.”

It was also reported that Milei spoke with Pope Francis, who promised to send him a blessed rosary as a gift of assumption and said that he expects his visit very soon. “We are pleased to announce that His Holiness, Pope Francis, communicated with our future president to congratulate him and express his wishes for union and progress for our country. Javier Milei thanked the words of the Supreme Pontiff, who promised to send him a blessed rosary as an inauguration gift. We hope to receive his visit very soon,” the account posted.

Also Tuesday, Milei conferred with Vice President-elect Victoria Villarruel to discuss the appointment of the next Ministers of Security and Defense. He also got together with former President Mauricio Macri, whose PRO party endorsed the Libertarian's final sprint ahead of the runoff and is said to be feeling entitled to choose some of the next cabinet members.

Commenting on his life after Dec. 10, President Fernández sees himself in Europe: “I will probably travel to Spain because I have some offers from universities there. I will probably take the opportunity to take some time off and let the new president work.”