By Xhabir Deralla
In politics, they say competition is healthy. Except when it isn’t.
So what’s this about? In North Macedonia, the biggest competitor to Dimitar Apasiev and his openly pro-Russian Levica (Left) is not some marginal fringe group – it is represented with six MPs in the country’s 120-member parliament. The competition is certainly not the miniature party of Janko Bačev, a former senior official in North Macedonia’s Directorate for Security and Counterintelligence, who went so far as to rename his political organization to mirror that of his ideological leader and patron—the war criminal Vladimir Putin.
Nothing can help Bačev and others like him to beat Levica, they cannot even dream of matching Levica’s success on the political market when it comes to fulfilling its primary mission: serving the interests of the Kremlin. (Personal interests, of course, are always part of the equation.)
Who has effectively overshadowed Apasiev in recent years, despite all the noise and hysteria that Levica generates in the public and political arena? (By the way, “Levica” is a misnomer—it is, in fact, an ultra-right-wing party.)
The answer requires little thought. It is Hristijan Mickoski, Prime Minister of North Macedonia and leader of VMRO-DPMNE, the party in power since 2024.
The irony is impossible to ignore. Apasiev has been shouting for years. Mickoski, quietly—but far more effectively—delivers. While one sells ideology, the other—using his party position and his office as prime minister—produces results.
And those results are becoming increasingly clear: a steady drift away from the European Union, nationalist populism and the spread of lies, a growing authoritarian drive, and a gradual pull into the Kremlin’s orbit. In other words: Apasiev talks about it. Mickoski implements it.
This is not (only) about rhetoric or style. What I am addressing here is clearly visible in policy decisions, public narratives, and the normalization of positions that were once considered ultra-radical and fringe. Today, they are mainstream. Delays in the process of EU integration are no longer presented as failures, but as acceptable—indeed, even as the only option—in the name of national pride and identity. At the same time, ethnonationalist populism and the constant blaming of “others” (both internal and external enemies) are becoming deeply entrenched, shaping public perception and crushing resistance to authoritarian tendencies.
This trajectory aligns with broader regional processes and networks of influence that benefit from weakening democratic institutions and distancing the Western Balkans from the European Union. None of this is confusion or inconsistency—it is direction: a well-organized and coordinated axis of authoritarian governance across the region—from Belgrade to Budapest and Bratislava—carefully and systematically orchestrated by the Kremlin.
Which is why, when it comes to real political weight, actual influence, and tangible “delivery,” Levica faces a serious problem. Not from its opponents. But from its most successful competitor.
A competitor playing the same game—only better, quieter, and more dangerously. And from a position of power, exercised in a style reminiscent of the “best” days of authoritarian rule, 2006–2017.
In the end, the goal is the same:
Anything but the European Union.
P.S.
This text represents a personal opinion and value judgment. The two individuals mentioned in the text have filed defamation lawsuits against me—proceedings that represent a serious financial burden on me and the organization I lead, and a threat to freedom of expression.
Party-affiliated trolls have issued threats for years, while the very protagonists of this text have repeatedly targeted me personally and publicly on social media, fueling waves of hostility and intimidation.
But the public interest outweighs all of that. I simply invoke my right to freedom of expression.