By XHABIR DERALA

Mickoski[1] does not hide his national chauvinism. On the contrary, as the time approaches for tough decisions by the Macedonian MPs about the European future, he is getting more and more nervous. Nationalism is the last refuge of any politician of his kind. Uncritically, as if they were billboards, most of the media give him an open platform to spread his national chauvinism, thereby inflaming people’s passions and putting pressure on the MPs of the party he leads.

What’s the story? Prime Minister Kovacevski, also the leader of the ruling SDSM[2], called for a leadership meeting on political processes and the future of the country’s EU integration. It goes without saying that the main issue is the constitutional amendments that consist in the introduction of the Bulgarian and several other minorities in the preamble of the Constitution. So far, this should be a story of a routine in a democratic country where political dialogue is a regular occurrence. That’s not the case here.

Mickoski used the invitation to political dialogue for dirty political marketing. He said that he accepts a leadership meeting, but only privately. The nationalist drive of his game can be easily recognized through his statements, as well as the avalanche of comments in the media and social networks. The main point in this campaign is that PM Kovacevski is afraid of a face-to-face meeting, especially because he is, allegedly, waiting for an approval by Ali Ahmeti, the leader of the coalition partner in power, DUI[3].

“All week we watch a soap opera, where with a dose of tension from the media it is found out whether the prime minister will send an official invitation to the leadership, and then whether Ali Ahmeti will agree to Kovacevski privately discussing the future of his country,” Mickoski said at a party rally in Kavadarci, and repeated the same in several other places.

Kovacevski is afraid of Ali Ahmeti – is the conclusion that the public should draw from Mickoski’s statements and from the comments in the media, where flirting with radical nationalism is not new to media practice.

In the story, in fact, the Macedonian is afraid of the Albanian for “discussing the future of their own country”. That’s the narrative that’s been spreading like wildfire for years now. In other words – Macedonia of the Macedonians. All others are guests in this country, who have no right to engage in state affairs. Unfortunately, intellectuals, editors and leaders in the civil sector have openly joined the nationalist hysteria spread by Mickoski and a part of the leadership of VMRO-DPMNE since last year (anti-European protests). We wrote and spoke about it, and President Pendarovski also spoke clearly about it.

There is also a somewhat comical dimension to Mickoski’s behavior on stage. Mickoski took the invitation for a political dialogue on key processes in the country somewhat personally, so he accepted it. Personally. He once again showed that he understands the political dialogue to which he was invited by the Prime Minister in the country – as a private matter.

So, Mickoski agrees to a leadership meeting, but only in a tete-a-tete format and that’s it. He doesn’t seem to understand or doesn’t want to understand that it also shows a lack of democratic capacity. By only accepting a one-on-one meeting, Mickoski not only excluded all other political leaders, but also excluded his own party. In a society in which democratic values are harbored, such behavior would be unacceptable, and for the members of his party’s leadership – extremely insulting.

As for the procedure, apart from being useful only in a nationalist campaign, and offensive to all other political entities, including his party, the insistence on a face-to-face meeting can also indicate fear. What is it that Mickoski can say in a meeting with only one person, and he is afraid to say it in the presence of other political leaders?

Furthermore, it is not far-fetched to think that Mickoski might intend to blackmail or threaten the Prime Minister. The public did not get a single reason to believe in the honest intentions of the head of VMRO-DPMNE, after all the insults and hate speech he poured out in the past years, and especially after the country joined the fast lane to the EU, after 17 years of waiting.

The leadership meeting turned into a parody even before it took place. Mickoski thinks that the invitation gave him room for manipulations and propaganda, but the whole story surrounding Mickoski’s participation in key processes has turned into nonsense. A bland mixture of cheap populism. However, despite all the grotesqueness, one should not overlook that this all is about a fierce nationalism and a strong anti-Western campaign with potentially major consequences for the country’s integration processes.

The issue of the democratic capacity of the head of VMRO-DPMNE must not be overlooked either. Mickoski completely underestimated (now quite deservedly in quotation marks) the “leadership meeting”. He tirelessly repeats for days that he accepted the meeting to tell Kovacevski that VMRO-DPMNE will not vote for the constitutional amendments. He told in detail what he is going to tell Kovacevski. And that he would have asked him what he was thinking of doing after the constitutional amendments failed and that after that failure the government should fall. The question remains – what is the meaning of the “leadership meeting” after the entire circus that Mickoski is organizing. Simply, any meeting has no logic, when all the views of the “interlocutor” are already known.

An informed person, aware of national interests and where Macedonia belongs and where (should) move, cannot accept this destructive behavior in politics.

[1] Hristijan Mickoski is the leader of the Macedonian the rightwing nationalist opposition party VMRO-DPMNE (Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization – Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity)
[2] Social Democrat Union of Macedonia (SDSM)
[3] Democratic Union for Integration

Any views, thoughts, and opinions expressed by the Author are solely those of the Author.