WHAT IS THE OPPOSITION DOING IN MACEDONIA

AIM, Skopje, February 3, 1994

SUMMARY With the exeption of publishing two or three party journals, the opposition has practically done nothing else because it could not engage real professionals in its media promotion, if a group of malcontents or young people with ambitions to become journalists but without any previous experience are disregraded. The opposition party, VMRO-DPMNE accused the ruling party of " selling Macedonia and the Macedonian people" to the Serbs, Greeks, and of " bargaining with the Albanians who have an intention of seceding anyway." Some Parties, like the Social Democratic and Workers Parties which are civil in orientation have no muscle for any major programme promotion.

What is the political opposition in the Republic of Macedonia up to? This question has been equally topical at least the last three, out of the four years political pluralism has been on the scene in that state. If at the beginning, as is natural for any beginning, the political scene with its variety of views and parties seemed rather interesting and made people feel that they should and had to join or opt for one of the political parties, in time things began to take a more peaceful turn. Those who used the strech of time while the "iron was hot" are surely convinced that such a state of affairs is not actually bad at all.

The opposition is nervous, badly structured or better put, quite disunited. Perhaps the press is to blame as well as the other media who did not give sufficient coverage to the various large or small parties that make up the opposition and to the promotion of their programmes and ideas? On the other hand, perhaps the parties themselves can be blamed for their status in the media, considering that they did not establish in due time, or even to this day their own media? The more so, as they could have done so at negligible cost and in a very simple way. Naturally if journalists and other staff had been available. However, with the exception of two or three published journals, the opposition initiated practically nothing, and what it has done was quite modest in the sense of quality. It turned out that attacking the existing, one could say, state media, along with the discrediting of state officials and journalist teams, hit back like a boomerang.

In other words, adequate professionals could not be provided for these two or three papers, if we disregard a group of malcontents or young people with ambitions to become journalists but without any previous experience. As a result the ruling coalition, made up in teh first place, of the Social Democratic Alliance (former and transformed League of Communists) and the Liberal Party secured their quite adequate media promotion, while the promotion of the largest party of Albanians, the Party of Democratic Prosperity, can be viewed either way, although perhaps most accurately from the aspect of every day politics and national interests, although its presence cannot be brought into question. It is more than certain that such a state of affairs has become today a considerable setback for the opposition, but such an epilogue actually did take place.

The leading Macedonian national party, the VMRO-DPMNE won in the first multiparty elections the greatest number of seats in Parliament - 38 out of a total of 120.However, considering its hard-line political, namely, national option and presentation, it refused (as they say in Macedonia - missed its chance) to form a coalition and take over the rule. Perhaps, in that case, the former Communists would take on the role in the political life of the country similar to that played by the former Communists in Croatia, where they are waiting for a new chance, and " hunting after" the errors of HDZ. However, the VMRO-DPMNE in order to maintain its national, and above all anti- communist and anti-Albanian orientaiton, but also aware of the low intellectual potentials it could rally within its membership, disregarded the challenge of the ruling party and joined the opposition, or to be more precise the SDSM. Hoping most probably that new elections would soon be called, due to the "unnatural" coalition which had to be formed between the SDSM, LP and PDP.

It turned out that prior to the formation of the coalition, the so called expert government actually did succeed in achieving something, however inadequately because it balanced between two poles, and that it had to fall under the brunt of the already mentioned and unavoidable shifting of alliances. After that things began to take a completely new turn, and the VMRO had to face the reality that the "Communists and Albanians" were actually quite sucessfully functioning and bringing the necessary laws which gave shape to Macedonia as an independent and sovereign state. While those in power actually did something, during that time the opposition in Parliament, i.e., the VMRO-DPMNR Party played the role of an insulted, cheated, as well as obstinant party. As it happened the VMRO-DPMNE was opposed to, or silent in regard to many essential and vital issues for the still young and unrecognized state, claiming that the ruling party was "selling Macedonia and the Macedonian people" to the Serbs, Greeks..., and national interests to the interests of the Western world..., as well as that it was "bargaining over the state with the Albanians" who had the intention of seceding" but that in the long-run "the Macedonian people would not forgive them and would repay, etc."

Accordingly, the opposition was against the admittance of the state into the UN under the provisional name of Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and rudely defaming the ruling party for having accepted that condition. All that has been mentioned in itself does not represent anything wrong or bad for an opposition party. However, it did not offer its own concept of how Macedonia was to survive outside the world organization and outside the offices of international financial, economic, trade, political and other institutions. The focusing of energy on the blunt as possible slandering of the ruling party, without presenting any programme of its own, brought about the cracking up of the party from its very foundations, and its disintegration into factions which gave birth (for the time being) to another five parties with the prefix VMRO, which are all not only ultra-nationalistic in orientation but are extremely antagonistic among themselves.

Political affairs, scandals, a number of fires and bruises are all part of the game. The majority of other extra-parliamentary parties are of similar political and national orientation. Pompously self-promoted at the outset of multipluralism the Movement for All-Macedonian Action (MAAK) was established by two prominent Macedonian writers, Gane Todoroski and Ante Poposki (who left MAAK in the meantime) gathering people of varied political beliefs and educational levels (one faction created the VMRO-DPMNE).

Unexpectedly, the MAAK experienced a debacle at the elections and did not win a single seat in Parliament, continuing its activities on a higher intellectual level than the VMRO but along the same national lines in regard to foreign policy issues, whereby their activities took place mostly in cabinets and while their communication with the membership evolved mainly through official statements. MAAK nevertheless did strive to carry out one political initiative, namely to collect 150 000 signatures required for holding a referendum for new parliamentary elections. Some parties, such as the Social Democratic Party and Workers Party, which are civic parties in orientation and practically the only opposition parties of this orientation that have some sort of rating, did not have the strength for any major programme promotions.

During all these four, namely three years in which the current coalition parties have had a leading and decisive role in Macedonia, nothing the oposition did shook the ruling party in any way. Not even when such sensitive national issues of a young state on the international stage were at stake, the stage on which it perhaps may be moving too cautiously, although for the time being stably. Nontheless, perhaps the only opposition party with potential is the Democratic Party established last year by the former leading man of the former Communists, Petar Gocev, who gathered part of the membership of the VMRO, some former Communists and some members of the Green Party, etc.

It is a Party with intellectual potential, in addition to elements of Albanophobia which are apparent in its programme and its negative attitude towards the leading SDSM, namely a Party that could as yet cause surprise. In spite of that, the conclusion remains that to date the opposition parties of national orientation have done nothing to contribute to the international affirmation of the new and small state, but quite the contrary.

PANTA D¦AMBAZOSKI