The state is the enemy, a criminal association - Milei

(ANSA) - ROME, FEB 12 - Argentine President Javier Milei, a self-proclaimed "anarcho-capitalist", considers the State to be "the enemy" and a "criminal association", according to a preview of a recorded television interview to be aired on Mediaset's Retequattro on Monday evening.
    "Philosophically I am an anarcho-capitalist and therefore I feel a deep contempt for the State," he told journalist and 'Quarta Repubblica' host Nicola Porro.
    "I think the State is the enemy, I think the State is a criminal association," he added.
    Milei was in Rome to meet Pope Francis, President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
    On his relations with the Argentine pontiff, Milei said that "the point is, you evolve".
    "One of the things I have realised recently is that the Pope is the most important person in the whole of Argentina, he is the leader of Catholics in the world," said Milei.
    "As a result, I had to reconsider some positions and, from that moment, we began to build a positive bond," he continued.
    During his election campaign towards the end of last year, Milei accused the pope of having "an affinity for murderous communists" and said that he is "representative of evil on Earth".
    At the close of the campaign the presidential candidate's staff also called for "the suspension of diplomatic relations with the Holy See as long as a totalitarian spirit prevails in the Church".
    At the time, the Vatican and Pope Francis did not reply.
    Milei's private audience with the pope on Monday morning lasted an hour, an unusually long time for a papal audience also considering that in this case simultaneous translation was not required.
    The meeting between the two leaders had "surprising aspects", the Argentine undersecretary for Worship Francisco Sánchez said afterwards.
    "In the course of the audience, the president made many gestures towards the Pope and the pope made many gestures towards the head of state," he continued, added that the meeting had been "very cordial".
    "It took place with much pleasantness, with much friendship between the two, and with a duration, more than an hour, that is not generally granted to international delegations received by the Pontiff.
    'Everything went in a way that was far above standard and this obviously left us extremely satisfied," concluded Sánchez.
    (ANSA).