Two and a half months following early parliamentary elections on December 11, 2016, and Macedonia is far from any announcements that it will form a new, stable, coalition government. Neither does President Gjorgje Ivanov intend to give the mandate to the second party after VMRO-DPMNE (51) with the most seats, nor can SDSM (49) say for sure that it is on a good path to forming a government with parties from the Albanian bloc. The Platform that was adopted after the elections by the ethnic Albanian parties, DUI (10), Besa (5) and the Alliance for Albanians (3), which was not part of the Przino Agreement and the Annex to this agreement, nor from the demands of the Colorful Revolution, has been brought to the level – „conditio sine qua non”.

While from DUI they say that they will not withdraw from their Draft Law on the use of the Albanian language, submitted as a response to the offer from the Social Democrats, accenting that the law is not an initial position, but rather a condition without which it is not possible, and in the framework of the Constitution, the leader of the Movement for Reforms in DPA, Zijadin Sela, as a representative of the Alliance of Albanians, announced changes in the Constitution and the formation of a separate body that will tailor the draft law on the use of the Albanian language. Besa announced a session of its Presidency last night, at which it was supposed to bring a decision regarding the latest statements made by DUI and the Alliance following their meeting yesterday.

The ethnic Albanian parties are decisive in that they will give SDSM the necessary signatures for it to receive the mandate. However, they do stress that this is not a guarantee that the signatures will also mean support for forming a government.

From SDSM there is still no official information about the progress of the negotiations. Some of the media have reported that DUI’s demands concerning the language are unacceptable for SDSM, as they concern “proposals that according to the assessments of SDSM are not of real need and benefit for the Albanian citizens in Macedonia and are ones that can only do harm in the functioning of certain institutions in Macedonia”. Leader Zoran Zaev said they are negotiating on demands within the framework of the Constitution. SDSM are concerned that the negotiations are being prolonged in order for the mandate of the Special Prosecutor’s Office to be used up, which expires in the first half of this year.

Strike of MPM (Media Print Macedonia) employees is a reflection of the situation in the media

The strike of the employees in the daily newspapers of Media Print Macedonia is actually a true reflection of the situation in the media sphere in Macedonia. Journalists and other employees who have been working for years on the technical production, design and on the marketing strategy of the newspapers “Utrinski Vesnik”, “Dnevnik” and “Vest” are demanding their two unpaid salaries. There has been no response from the managers and that is why with the support of the Independent Union of Journalists of Macedonia they have decided to take such a step. In the meanwhile, MPM changed its ownership structure, but the employees also have no information on these events as well. The Special Prosecutor’s Office “entered” to financially control MPM.

The media sphere further continues to be divided, but on the agenda are debate shows in which empty phrases of individuals-representatives of public life are analyzed, with the prefix “war” and the bragging of VMRO-DPMNE and of the leader Nikola Gruevski, as a synonym for Macedonianess, on the one hand, and on the other hand, the work of SDSM and the leader Zoran Zaev in the context of the negotiations between SDSM-DUI.

The public opinion that is being created is far from the basic journalistic principles for objectivity, truthfulness, accuracy and balance in the process of informing.

International community in anticipation of a new Macedonian government 

United States Ambassador Jess Baily said in a statement last week for a Macedonian television that 61 MPs will decide which parties will form the new government. However, he also said that it should have the reform agenda as a priority and that it should not cause a new crisis. Regardless of which option will be chosen, “everyone should work toward bringing the country closer to EU and NATO”, considers the US Ambassador, who requested an extension of the SPO’s mandate, but did not comment the Platform of ethnic Albanians.

EU Ambassador Samual Zbogar stated that he is optimist in that the political leaders in Macedonia will find the right way to form a government, so that the EU can continue to work on implementing the reforms that are needed in the country.

Citizens in despair

On the margins of the political crisis, in real life, the citizens cannot realize their fundamental human rights. They breath polluted air, the health care system is crumbling – elevators are not working in some hospitals, placentas are forgotten after birth …, MPs are physically attacked in café bars, there is a growing number of fights out in the open, in shopping malls, there is a growing number of traffic accidents, railroad transportation is put on hold, households that have disconnected from the heating company but still have to pay the heating bill are striking…The law is not respected, and experts claim that as long as there is no rule of law, no public interest and no willingness to debate, that the country will be sinking in crime and corruption.

Моnika Taleska