IT’S UP TO GRUEVSKI AND CRVENKOVSKI

The ruling party and party in opposition should immediately find a way out of the crisis and assume responsibility for the future of Macedonia, and for the fate of its citizens.

Risto Popovski

With this joint message the international institutions: EU, NATO, OSCE, which until now expressed serious concern about the political crisis in Macedonia, began to openly and strongly put pressure on the Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and the opposition leader Branko Crvenkovski.

Neither of the leaders is explicitly mentioned, but it is clear to whom the joint message on Wednesday was addressed. The international community, as well as the Macedonian public, knows very well who caused the crisis and in whose hands the solution lies, and it seriously endangers, not only the Euro-Atlantic integration, but also the stability of the country and the future of its citizens.

This view was most precisely expressed by the European Commissioner for Enlargement, Štefan Füle, through the message: “It is time to compromise. Time to put your citizens first.”

The message was addressed to Gruevski and Crvenkovski, not just as office-holders, key stakeholders in the crisis, but also due to their blindness of vanities. They neither want, not could see, that the state and citizens are victims of their personal intolerance.

The increased and coordinated pressure of the international community came after the deadline for local elections was suddenly extended at the proposal of the Government. The opposition immediately refused the “helping hand”, solidifying the boycott.

The leaders’ moves, if we could put it like that, only deepen the crisis, whereas the deadlines for the Macedonian progress towards EU can be counted in days, almost in hours. The European integration and many other crucial and vital issues are “forgotten” on account of vanity and personal intolerance. The European institutions “do not have time to wait” and gave a serious warning about the danger of a long-term “freeze” of the European prospects of Macedonia.

Our “leaders” could face the Slovenian scenario

The external pressure, which could also be intensified to a certain degree, is the last resort of the international community. It should serve as an incentive, but it could not resolve the crisis. The responsibility and solution is in the hands of Gruevski and Crvenkovski. The stability and future of the country depends on them.

Whatever they do in the following days, it is clear that they could not avoid the responsibility because of the behaviour in the past months. Their vanities, even if they do not want to see, or could not see it, only lower their ratings, which apparently mean a lot to them. The citizens’ trust is seriously decreasing, because the personal “outwitting” only deepens the crisis and uncertainty.

Gruevski and Crvenkovski, whether willingly or not, are heading for the Slovenian scenario where the citizens took to the streets and clearly said they do not trust the leaders of the ruling party and opposition, who led the country into a crisis.