MADRID. — "If I had a second passport, without a doubt it would be Argentine," Alberto Núñez Feijóo acknowledged last year after a long informal conversation with foreign correspondents. The leader of the Popular Party (PP) and leading candidate to become Spain's next prime minister has a special affinity for Argentina that was forged through countless trips to Buenos Aires when he was president of the Xunta de Galicia. The Galicians living on the other side of the Atlantic, some 165,000 people, were key in each of the four elections he won. For Spanish politics, Buenos Aires is the "fifth" Galician province. "Argentina and Spain are sister countries," he says in an interview with LA NACION. Núñez Feijóo had received foreign correspondents twice at the PP's headquarters to talk informally about domestic and international politics over the past few months. This politician, born in Ourense in 1961, is much more formal when facing a microphone. In the middle of the campaign, the frontrunner for the November 29 elections answered in writing the questions sent by this newspaper about the bilateral relationship with Argentina following Javier Milei's emergence in the electoral campaign and his stormy relationship with socialist Pedro Sánchez. "The presence of the Argentine president is welcome in Spain because he represents a sister country, I insist. In the next governing period, it will fall to us to restore institutional contacts to better defend shared interests and the mutual opportunities we must seize. Our relationship must be based on respect and dialogue, and that is what I will promote from the government of Spain," he said. Milei's trips to Spain were not notable for institutional respect: none was a state visit and, during his days in Madrid, the President repeatedly attacked Sánchez. Despite publicly expressing his opposition to the socialist government, Milei also did not forge a relationship with Feijóo. He traveled to Spain eight times as Argentine president, but the libertarian prioritized other bilateral meetings, such as those he held with Isabel Díaz Ayuso, the PP's leading figure in Madrid. He and Feijóo have not even met in person. The opposition leader, for his part, took advantage of the last Ibero-American Summit to meet with the president of Chile, José Antonio Kast. According to what LA NACION learned, neither Feijóo's nor Milei's teams sought a meeting during recent trips. Sources from the PP say the party feels identified in Argentina with Pro, and they recall the close relations that Mariano Rajoy and Mauricio Macri maintained when both were presidents. Feijóo met with Macri in 2017, when he traveled to Spain on a state visit, and they met again in 2019, when Feijóo received him at the Olivos residence. Along the same lines, Feijóo received Jorge Macri in January during a tour of the Buenos Aires city government chief through the Spanish capital. Feijóo, however, does not believe the government is an obstacle to normalizing relations between the two countries. "I have visited Argentina on numerous occasions and I believe in the strategic nature of our bilateral relationship. It is essential to restore a serious and stable relationship. We share history, language, and a way of understanding life. We also share our commitment to freedom, democracy, and prosperity. Dialogue must be restored at all levels and in all areas: political, economic, academic. We have a positive agenda that we must seize," he reflected. Feijóo and Ayuso at a demonstration in Madrid JAVIER SORIANO - AFP But beyond the human factor, Spain is the second-largest source of direct investment in Argentina, behind only the United States. That is why Feijóo emphasized the importance for Spain of the trade relations that companies with Spanish capital can maintain in Argentina. "We must talk about bilateral matters, regional matters, the relationship with the European Union. The main objective must be to generate opportunities for the citizens and companies of both countries and guarantee legal certainty to encourage investment. Many Spanish companies have a significant presence in Argentina, and many Argentine companies in Spain. We will give security and continuity to that relationship and facilitate the mobility of talent," he said. Favorite in the polls Two weeks before the Spanish elections, the polls agree in placing Feijóo as the leading candidate to obtain the votes that would allow him to form a new government. But the polls also indicate that the PP would not reach La Moncloa alone, but rather in alliance with Vox, the far-right party, which could achieve unprecedented growth at the ballot box. Santiago Abascal, Vox's leading figure, has reaffirmed his anti-immigration discourse in recent months, especially after the crisis in Ceuta. What consequences could Vox's arrival in the government of Spain have for the Argentine community? LA NACION asked. Officially, Argentines living in Spain number close to half a million, but unofficial figures handled by the authorities place that number much higher. Feijóo downplayed the impact of Vox's anti-immigration proposals. "Argentines and Spaniards are family. There has been a large Argentine community in Spain for years, and it is perfectly integrated into society in a natural and exemplary way. Argentines study, work, and form families here: they contribute to Spain," he responded. Finally, the candidate compared the great Spanish migration to Argentina in the 19th and 20th centuries (some 2 million people) with the new waves of Argentines who arrived in Spain after the Covid-19 pandemic. "Argentina welcomed generations of Spaniards, and today Spain welcomes many Argentines who enrich our society. That is how it will continue to be: Argentina is a sister country," he said. By Iván Ruiz