The rise of nationalists brings “clouds” to relations with North Macedonia

Faced with the reconstitution of a difficult environment in relations with the North Macedonia is our country, as the first round of presidential elections held yesterday highlights the dynamics of the nationalist VMRO-DPMNE ahead of the May 8 parliamentary elections.

The candidate for the presidency of the country, Giordana Silianowskasupported by VMRO-DPMNE is leading according to the first results of its candidate SDSM and current president Stevo Pendarovski and thus will have the lead for the second round of the presidential elections that will take place on the same day as the parliamentary elections.

With 60% of the votes counted, Gordana Silianovska gathers 38%, while Stevo Pendarovski gets 19% of the votes. In third place is the candidate of the co-ruling Albanian party DUI and Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia, Bujar Osmani with a percentage of 15%, followed by the candidate of the coalition of four opposition Albanian parties, Arben Taravari with a percentage of 12%.

The President of VMRO -DPMNE Mr. Mickoski and G. Silianovska are two of the leading critics of the Prespa Agreement and those who led during the referendum the campaign to reject the Agreement which led to the change of the Constitutional Name of the country.

Both of these politicians who will probably take over the government of the country from May 8 have questioned the Prespa Agreement and use the old constitutional name of the country “Macedonia” and in fact Mrs. Silianovska stated a few days ago that she herself will not use the new name when she assumes her duties if of course she is elected to the position of President of the country.

The leader of the party, who according to opinion polls is considered to be the next prime minister, K. Mickoski, has now opened a front with the Bulgaria as he rejects Bulgaria’s demand to include Bulgarians as a constituent element of the state with a new revision of the Constitution, despite the fact that Bulgaria has vetoed the country’s European perspective.

Mr. Mickoski even stated last week that he will not accept any new revision of the Constitution and that the Europeans should send the Bulgarians for “coffee” when the European perspective of North Macedonia is discussed (modeled after Orban’s absence during the decisions on Ukraine).

Unfortunately, the emergence of a hardline nationalist formation in the leadership of the neighboring country will cause a series of problems in relations with Greece. Although K. Mickoski during the pre-election period did not raise the issue of “denunciation” of the Prespa Agreement, the mere fact that leading institutional actors of the country will refuse to refer to their country by its constitutional name and will use “Macedonia ” will constitute a flagrant violation of the Prespa Agreement.

Also, by attempting an expansive interpretation even of the provisions adopted by the neighboring country, by using the term “Macedonia” in more and more institutions and activities but also further impeding the change of passports (the deadline expired two months ago) will provoke the reaction of Athens.

Of course, with a government VMRO-DPMNE one should not expect even now to start the discussion about changing the textbooks which has not happened in the previous six years nor the talks about defining the use of the term “Macedonian” for commercial use.

And the problems are certainly many, just look at the way in which “Macedonian wines” still continue to be displayed on the shelves of European markets next to Greek Macedonian wines. Regarding the statues in the square of Skopje the funny invention of placing a sign stating that Alexander and Philip are Greek cultural heritage, these have been removed from the very first moment…

For Athens, of course, there will be no other choice but to denounce its violations Agreement of Prespa which resolved the issue of the international name but left many fronts open and above all did not cut the umbilical cord of nationalist liberationism in North Macedonia, which once again finds the appropriate political climate to express itself.

Thus, it should be announced in good time to K. Mickoski, who also belongs to the same European political family as the ND, that the return to the past of confrontations and to the “hiddenness with the use of the old constitutional name in violation of the agreed terms will have significant costs for the European course of his country.

And this will be a one-way street for the Greek government, which, as it has publicly stated, was against the Prespa Agreement, but will respect the country’s international obligations. Provided, of course, that the other side will do the same…