Political knot: Leadership meetings and emissaries again in game
The ruling VMRO-DPMNE will hardly accept the request of the opposition SDSM to form a technical government, therefore it is likely that Zoran Zaev’s party will try to meet its requirements through negotiations, analyze political analysts
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After the 18th SDSM Congress where the current leadership received support, all options how the party will act on are open. However, according to political analyst Albert Musliu, it is more certain that there will be negotiations including the international community.
“Although SDSM decided not to accept the mandates, it is not ruled out that they might return to the Parliament, but before that there have to be negotiations where the party will set their demands on table. It may be difficult to reach a compromise, but it is certain that the international community will insist on dialogue. Therefore a possibility of new early elections is not excluded. They can take place by the end of the year or after a year or year and a half “, says Musliu.
SDSM spokesman Petre Shilegov says the party is already preparing a strategy to act in the future, but has not revealed any details. The party does not confirm the Inbox7 information that among other requirements, SDSM will again insist on forming a technical government and changes to the rules on financing and advertising of political parties in public service (MRTV) and the private media. The question remains whether SDSM will require the opposition to have the right to supervise MRTV.
In terms of the tactics that the opposition would apply in meeting their requirements, Musliu does not believe that SDSM will return to street democracy because in the past it proved that it got nothing with it.
Dissatisfied with the rule of the current government, more than two years ago SDSM decided on a street democracy by organizing a march called “RESISTANCE”. Shortly before the presidential and parliamentary elections in April this year, the party came up with new and serious allegations against the top leadership of the ruling VMRO – DPMNE for a multimillion committed crime, and soon after the election they said they did not accept the results and that the MPs elected in the last parliamentary elections would not participate in the work of the Parliament.
The way out will be sought through dialogue
The fact that the Speaker of the Macedonian Parliament Trajko Veljanoski publicly urged the opposition to come back and join the work of the Parliament confirms that negotiations are more certain.
“I sincerely expect and wish that they would return to the Parliament and I will do everything in my jurisdiction. It is not good the Parliament to have no opposition”, said Veljanoski.
According to him, the work in the Parliament must not stop, but first they have to wait if the opposition MPs will resign or not. If they do not resign and do not come to work in the Parliament for six months, by two thirds majority their mandate can be stripped.
For Musliu the form does not matter at all, whether negotiations would be conducted at a leadership meeting or through the MPs club. For him it is important to have a dialogue through which compromise will be found.
Zaev will have to negotiate for coalition
Once Zoran Zaev cemented its leadership position, except with the government, he will also have to negotiate and ensure relations with coalition partners.
Tito Petkovski, NSDP leader, former fellow of Zaev and now coalition partner, opens exactly that question. For him, the most important of all is how relationships within the coalition will develop.
“Our agreement with SDSM has already expired. We waited for the Congress to finish and to sit down and see what we have accomplished of the agreed Action plan of the coalition parties. This is especially important after the reelection of president Zaev and after the failure to recognize the election results and the boycott of the Parliament”, said Petkovski.
However, the university professor and political analyst Mersel Bilalli says that we should not expect major earthquakes in the actions of the opposition, some surprises and steps that have not been taken so far by the social democrats:
“The old leadership of SDSM, former MPs, and all older party members must understand that it is natural for things to change, and in their place to come a new, younger generation. It is in Zaev’s nature to unite and therefore I do not expect that someone else, even Crvenkovski, could harm the party in any way. What Zaev needs to do is to come out and openly tell his membership and the public what he is going to do, as he says, for the good of Macedonia”, says Bilalli.
Old-new leader of SDSM Zoran Zaev immediately after the congress said that he was proud of his party which proved to be solid, united and unique and that he would show that Macedonia could be made a free country where law and justice ruled.
Macedonia is done for
The former president of the Democratic Party (DP) and former Governor of the National Bank Petar Goshev says that the current political situation is horrible and that Macedonia is in agony which is embarrassment to a country that declares itself as democratic.
Goshev, who as president of DP in 1994 with VMRO-DPMNE boycotted the then elections, for the SDSM decision to boycott the last early parliamentary elections says that the fight outside institutions will be hard work for the opposition.
Even if there is a new party, it will fail
With 413 votes Zaev was reelected as president at the last 18th SDSM congress held last week. 176 out of 593 present delegates voted against the incumbent president. Meanwhile there is information (although none of these people has given official confirmation) that Gordan Georgiev, Ana Pavlovska Daneva, Esad Rahic, Aleksandar Naumovski, Andrej Petrov, Vesna Bendevska will form a new political party. From what we know with certainty is that MP Mitre Veljanoski, fierce critic of the current leadership, remains a member of the party and party organs.
“I love the party and therefore with arguments I came out and told my remarks on the performance of the current leadership. It does not matter that it won the trust, I am staying in the party and will respect every decision”, says Veljanoski for Inbox7.
Petkovski does not believe that SDSM divisions will deepen and thinks that the following steps will jointly be agreed:
“In SDSM there are a lot of affected people, especially those who were elected for MPs, and therefore I do not believe that the party will continue to be divided. On the contrary, it will lead to homogenization of members that along with the leadership should sit down and agree on how to act in the future”, says Petkovski and reminds about the actual situation of the Macedonian political scene – that new and small parties remain marginal.
Editor: Stojanka Mitreska
