I took the time to find out more about this
International Medal of the Community of Madrid, which recognizes foreign country authorities, on behalf of the people of Madrid, for their institutional work. It was also awarded to Volodymyr Zelensky, a pragmatic centrist; Venezuela's Juan Guaidó, also a centrist; Central Macedonia's Governor, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, a right-leaning centrist and, last year, to Ecuador's President, Daniel Noboa, who is considered to have a centrist political stance (leaning right on economic policies and left on social policies).
The medal is to be awarded to dignitaries only on official visits but Díaz Ayuso decided to present it to President Milei during a non-official visit (probably to annoy Sánchez, as you mentioned).
Why not? He genuinely deserves the medal. In essence, the award reflects Milei's alignment with economic principles and policies favored by the German Economics Foundation, his efforts to implement these principles, and his role in promoting economic liberalization/libertarianism in Argentina.
Some other recipients:
- Angela Merkel (Chancellor of Germany)
- Wolfgang Schäuble (Former Minister of Finance of Germany)
- Jean-Claude Juncker (Former President of the European Commission)
- Christine Lagarde (President of the European Central Bank)
- Mario Draghi (Former President of the European Central Bank)
- Hans-Werner Sinn (Economist and former President of the Ifo Institute for Economic Research)
We'll celebrate it together next October.
😉