European Forum

Macedonian Social Democrats rally for early elections

Yesterday evening (27 June) Macedonia’s main opposition party, the Social Democrats, along with thousands of supporters, began its battle for early general elections at a rally in front of the government building in the capital of Skopje. The social democrats called for the parliament to be dissolved directly following the NATO summit scheduled for November. Elections before that date could harm the country’s chances to join the alliance and make progress in its EU integration bid if there is a breakthrough in the name talks with Greece, party representatives said. "Regardless of the outcome of the NATO Summit, whether the negotiations with Greece are successful or not, our goal in November will be for the Assembly to disband so that we can get out and meet the citizens [at elections]," the head of the Social Democrats, Branko Crvenkovski, said at the rally.

Crvenkovski accused the ruling centre-right VMRO DPMNE party of ruining the country’s prospects. “The country's EU and NATO bids are blocked, the economy is shattered, citizens' rights have been set back and interethnic relations are deteriorating”, Crvenkovski claimed. The opposition leader sent a message to Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski that he will be held accountable for allowing crime and robbery to infiltrate the state during his term. The opposition leader also blamed the government for not doing enough to solve the name spat with Greece. Some 30 thousand supporters joined the rally.

More pragmatic approach
The opposition rally comes after many announcements that the social democratic party would increase its activity and was seen as a barometer of the party's current strength. After his return to the party helm last year, Crvenkovski announced reforms to the political grouping, which has lost every consecutive general, presidential and local election in the country since 2006. He now promised that the party is reformed, internally stronger and more democratic. The Social Democrats and their coalition partners currently hold some 30 seats in the 120-seat parliament, while VMRO DPMNE has roughly double that number. Different opinion polls show that the leftwing party is at the moment considerably less popular than VMRO DPMNE. But the social democratic leader and his party colleagues stated they are confident they will secure an election victory.

Sources: Balkan Insight