The
Attack by the Opposition
Though the attack of the opposition against the governments (against both of them) of
Ljubcho Georgievsky has not stopped ever since the presidential elections in February and
in March it has been particularly intensive. The principal aim is to provoke pre-term
parliamentary elections that are designated to overthrow the government of Ljubcho
Georgievsky. As the Utrinsky Vestnik n.p. of 24 March wrote, three months ago the
leader of the SDSM of Macedonia Br. Zarvenkovsky had called for pre-term parliamentary
elections. This demand is now supported by other political parties as well. One of the
leaders of the newly established Liberal Party, the outstanding businessman Risto
Gushterov, also declared his support for it. The demand for pre-term elections was raised
at the regular Third Congress of the Socialist Party too. At a meeting of the Parliament
of 2 March the prominent activist of the Liberal Democratic Party Petar Goshev also
adhered to this demand (Utrinsky Vestnik, 3 March). The Liberal Party particularized its
proposal for pre-term parliamentary elections as it insisted on them being conducted in
the autumn, together with the local elections. The proposal in principal is also supported
by the smaller parties in the country that gravitate to the SDSM. At least so far it is
clear that even if no united front of the opposition is formed against the government of
Ljubcho Georgievsky, there is a common demand which could motivate such a step. SDSM
places great efforts in this.
The Vecher n.p.
of 14 March published an article, which stated that the SDSM intended to activate its
struggle against the government and that it promised the country the so-called "hot
spring". Such means like tribunes, meetings, "a march for overthrowing the
authority" will be enacted. These means have to lead to a political crisis which were
to bring the party back to power. For the purpose of giving rise to a political crisis the
SDSM and the other opposition parties have aimed at discrediting the two ruling parties
VMRO-DPMNE and the Democratic Party of the Albanians, through its leader Arben
Xhaferi, without attacking the Democratic Alternative which is alone looking for a way out
for the coalition. An attempt to discredit VMRO-DPMNE was undertaken by launching the
statement that the party was sustained by Greek money and this is part of the active
anti-Greek campaign carried out in the Republic of Macedonia recently. It is obvious that
it represents the resistance of local business circles against the vigorous invasion of
Greek capital into the country and against the few important deals that were concluded
between the Greek capital and the government, which deals are not especially successful if
we have to be honest. VMRO-DPMNE has been accused of purchasing real estate property (With
whose money, is the question?) in view of its existence after the withdrawal from the
power. The real estate property in question is the Publishing House "Gotse
Delchev" in Skopje, which has recently been purchased by the party This is in full
conformation with the provisions of the Party Law, however under todays political
circumstances it does not sound particularly well. The campaign for discreditation of A.
Xhaferi has been concentrated on his mediation in the relations between the Bulgarian
Prime Minister Iv. Kostov and the Albanian leader H. Tachi. This mediation has been viewed
by the opposition as an act aimed at the apportion of the Republic of Macedonia between
Bulgaria and Albania.
Part of the Macedonian
press valued the opportunities of the SDSM to overthrow the ruling coalition very
optimistically. The Nova Makedonia n.p. of 4/5 March, though deemed to be the
official edition of the ruling, published an authors commentary that outlines these
opportunities as follows: The first step towards this achievement is considered to be the
fact that Br. Zarvenkovsky had managed to keep the main body of SDSM and to form a
government-in-shadow, which would closely follow the actions of the ruling. The second
step has been the activity of the SDSM destined at the organization of the obstruction of
parliamentary work as it is stated at the same time that the Parliament were not working
properly. And the third and the most important step at this moment is the fact that SDSM
managed to engage the Union of Trade Unions (UTU) in Macedonia lead by Jivko Tolevsky in
its struggle against the present government.
The Union of Trade
Unions in Macedonia that has for years been lead by Jivko Tolevsky is in close relations
with the SDSM. During the government of the latter the Union had not only hindered it but
it also helped it to break the strike of the railroad workers. SDSM is now activating it
and is directing it against the present government of Ljubcho Georgievsky. On 29 February
The UTU organized a meeting in Skopje which was joined by thousands of people and which
meeting was organized to protest against the economic policy of the government that had
brought to high unemployment, as well as against the requirements of the IMF and the WB
for closing the losing enterprises, what were to increase unemployment. About 15 000
people participated in the meeting according to the n.p. Vecher of
1 March and Monitor and Sega (Now) of 2 March. Tolevsky called for the
government to begin a dialogue with trade unions and not to accept the "blackmail by
the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund". One meant under
"blackmail" the demands for reforms of the social security and the healthcare
system, as well as of the administration and taxation etc.
Strikes in the Republic
of Macedonia have during the last few months become a daily event, mostly because of the
unpaid salaries and the treat of closing enterprises. However there was something else in
the foreground of the protest that was organized by the UTU in Skopje and namely the
struggle of the opposition to obstruct the reforms commenced by the government and to
discredit it before the international financial institutions. The probable signature of
the three-year agreement between them and the government would strengthen the positions of
the latter and would ruin the attempts for its pre-term overthrow from power, what is the
objective of the opposition. One of the commentators was right when stating for the Dnevnik
n.p. that the protest meeting of the UTU was in fact an opposition activity.
UTU is an organization
of numerous members and the fact that the Social Democratic opposition has mobilized them
in its struggle against the government is of great importance, especially for the course
of the commencing reforms. As the Dnevnik n.p. of 3 March and Vecher of
9 March and Dnevnik of 24 March announce, the UTU has categorically declared itself
against the social security reform, against the reform of the healthcare system and
against the rest of reforms, and it has threatened the government with unceasing protests
and even with a general Strike. According to the statements of its leaders the protests
would flood the whole country. In Parliament the deputies of the SDSM united themselves
against the bill for amendments of the pension law and members of Parliament from the
Liberal Democratic Party and from the Party of Democratic Prosperity. In fact the bill was
supported in Parliament by the VMRO-DPMNE and the DPA.
In its struggle against
the government the SDSM is looking for allies among the other opposition parties. The
occasion are the forthcoming local elections. It is obvious however that the matter here
is a long-term one. Makedonia Denes of 10 March and Utrinski Vestnik of 6 March
informed about talks about a probable coalition between the SDSM and the Liberal
Democratic Party of Risto Penov, who is the mayor Skopje. The liberal democrats also raise
the formula of such a coalition two plus one, which means that the coalition is to
include two Macedonian and one Albanian parties. Actually the formula is unalterable and
it has been implied by each and every of the former governments of the Republic of
Macedonia.
In February and in March
some new political formations attempted to enter the political life in the Republic of
Macedonia. These were the just established Democratic Union of the former Minister of
Internal Affairs Pavle Trayanov, a new political formation of the Albanians, which is
still under construction, if one could trust publications in the Macedonian press, and the
former fraction in VMRO-DPMNE around B. Zmeykovsky and B. Stoymenov which is becoming an
independent political force. Some of them like the Democratic Union, the newly revived
Liberal Party and even DA (Democratic Alternative) of V. Tupurkovsky proclaimed as their
objective the "Third Road" or the "Third Option", which means the
rejection of the leading role of the state in the development of the country and the
establishment of the so-called civil society as the leading force during the changes. This
is a pretty vague idea in regard to its content, which has been propagated in the past
years. In this specific case it was noted that the proclaimers of this idea were in
opposition to the ruling VMRO-DPMNE but they were standing aside from the SDSM. And still
they are opposition and are engaged or intend to engage in the struggle against the
government. And this in reality increases the number of its enemies.
According to information
in the media Ljubcho Georgievskys government was in the state of media isolation.
There is no newspaper and no TV-channel to stand firmly behind it though media are
state-owned. At the same time the opposition enjoys a media comfort, newspapers and
television are open for their initiatives. It is therefore no wonder and especially after
the presidential elections that its rating among the population is constantly rising.
In its edition of 21
March Utrinski Vestnik published an inquiry of the Center for Research and Analysis
at the newspaper, the results of which inquiry were astonishing. The inquiry had been
conducted with 1040 citizens and according to it if parliamentary elections had then been
conducted 29.9 percent of the voters would have voted for the SDSM against 12.4 percent
for VMRO-DPMNE. Nevertheless how careful we relate to such inquiries, because of the aim
of their conductors to first of all manipulate the society, the difference is too large
for not to think about it. Further 11.4 percent of the inquired intended to vote for the
DPA, 3.2 percent for the other Albanian Party, 1.9 percent for the Liberal Democratic
Party, 1.5 percent for the DA, about 1 percent for the Liberal Party etc. All parties from
the ruling coalition are losing the trust of their voters, DPA the least and Democratic
Alternative the most. VMRO-DPMNE compared to another inquiry conducted in December has
lost 8.5 percent of its potential voters. If no events of favourable nature for the ruling
coalition occur and the aid they are seeking from international financial institutions is
not delayed, the opposition will proceed its victorious march.