A Crisis in the Government Coalition

WHILE THE COALITION IS BREAKING APART THE LEADERS SIPPING COFFEE TRY TO SLOW DOWN THE DISINTEGRATION

At the last three sessions of the Macedonian Parliament held within the last three weeks, major coalition partners VMRO-DPMNE and DA crossed swords as much as three times. This is happening on the eve of presidential elections at which parties from the ruling coalition will run with their own candidates. All this indicates a possible disintegration of the coalition.

AIM Skopje, September 24, 1999

At the session of the Macedonian Parliament held on September 23 the delegates ratified the Macedonian-Greek Agreement on the construction of the oil pipeline Thessaloniki - Skopje. Although the were against this Agreement, parliamentarians from the Democratic Alternative (DA) voted in favour of the adoption of the law on the ratification of this agreement and thereby supported their coalition partners from the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation - Democratic Party for the Macedonian National Unity (VMRO-DPMNE). Just a day before this session during the verification of Vasil Tupurkovski's (the DA leader) presidential nomination, a member of the State Electoral Commission from the VMRO-DPMNE ranks claimed that Tupurkovski had not been the resident of Macedonia for whole ten years in the last 15 years and thus did not fulfil one of the basic preconditions for presidential nomination. On that same day, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDK) which has entered the Government some four months ago and has one Minister and one Deputy-Minister in the Cabinet, announced that it would withdraw from the Government so as to "wash its hands" of a possible fall in the Government's rating and thus increase the chances of its presidential candidate Stojan Andov.

The chronology of this disintegration indicates that the inevitable break up between the DA and VMRO-DPMNE would have at least two consequences: that the VMRO-DPMNE can count only with the votes of its members in favour of the ratification of the Greek contract and that the Government will fall because of the feud between the main coalition partners. On September 7, after eight hours of heated discussion, Savo Klimovski, President of Parliament and a DA member, tried to suspend the session because "the delegates were tired". The VMRO-DPMNE delegates opposed this wanting to link the ratification of the interstate agreement between Macedonia and Greece on the construction of the Thessaloniki-Skopje oil pipeline to the purchase of the Skopje Refinery OKTA.

This created an embarrassing situation. Klimovski kept getting in and out of his presidential armchair calling the delegates to order threatening to suspend the work of the Parliament. This went on and on until at one moment Stojan Andov, who was the first and the second President of the Macedonian Parliament, informed the speaker that the suspension of the Parliament's work was solely his jurisdiction. This wouldn't be strange by itself had not the inevitable disintegration of the Government coalition been avoided just 3-4 days before that after a meeting held between the VMRO-DPMNE top leaderships.

During its session held on September 3, which was presided over by Tomislav Stojanovski, Vice-President of the Parliament from the VMRO-DPMNE ranks, the Parliament passed a decision under compulsion to acquit Ljiljana Ristova Ingilzova of her duty as President of the State Election Commission and two of its members. The opposition reacted strongly to this decision. In the afternoon of that same day, Savo Klimovski who did not attend the session, called a press conference to say that the at the mentioned session the procedure was not observed, that it lacked a quorum and that his party, which was also in the Government, would contest this decision before the Constitutional Court. Caught unawares by this announcement, the leading coalition partner VMRO-DPMNE first issued a statement through the parliamentary coordinator that it considered that the voting had been regular, but would nevertheless agree to a new vote in order to remove any doubts as to its regularity. Only a day later, that same parliamentary group demanded Klimovski's resignation accusing him of placing himself above the Parliament and being a malicious gossip. During these events the leading men from coalition parties were out of the country. The Prime Minister and the VMRO-DPMNE President Georgievski was visiting the United States and Canada, the Vice-President of the Party and Government Ms.Dosta Dimovski was on official visit to Germany and the DA President Vasil Tupurkovski was in Turkey.

Even the DPA President Arben Xhaferi was abroad, although his party did not interfere much in the quarrel of its coalition partners. The things were "smoothed over" (which is one of the terms of the ruling coalition's new political terminology) at the meeting of five-member VMRO-DPMNE and DA delegations in a cultish pizzeria "Galija" two days before the planned continuation of the parliamentary session. At this favourite meeting place of the Macedonian politicians of every hue, it was agreed over a cup of coffee to put the relieving of the members of the State Election Commission of duty to a new vote while the VMRO-DPMNE agreed to withdraw the request on the dismissal of the President of Parliament from the DA ranks.

No sooner said than done. Admittedly with some complications. It took the whole first day, September 13, for the Parliament to decide whether the previous decision the changes in the State Election Commission was valid, whether it was possible to change it or to just state that it had never been adopted, which the the opposition insisted on. Finally, Klimovski adopted a decision on changes in the State Election Commission, but with a completely new set of names which formally made the VMRO-DPMNE a moral loser.

Naturally, the conclusion of the session of September 17 very much resembled that of September 3. Only this time President of the Parliament Klimovski played the main role instead of Stojanovski from the VMRO-DPMNE who had played it on September 3. Klimovski's decision did not meet with the approval of his coalition partner VMRO-DPMNE. The Prime Minister, Ljubco Georgievski strongly insisted on the controversial contract on the sale of the OKTA Refinery and the construction of oil pipeline and even delivered an introductory speech on that before parliamentary debate. Namely, this ratification has its history. During July, the Parliament adopted the ratification proposal without any problems with the aid of DA votes. On the other hand, for the first time in these 10 months of cohabitation, President Kiro Gligorov invoked his constitutional right and refused to sign a decree on the promulgation of the law. In such cases, according to the constitutional procedure, the law is returned to Parliament for consideration and in case it is again adopted the President is obliged to sign a decree on its promulgation.

Repeated ratification was also a question of honour for Prime Minister Georgievski who during his last meeting with the Greek Prime Minister Simitis promised that the Parliament would ratify the Agreement in the course of September despite President Gligorov's objections. This has naturally made the VMRO-DPMNE rather nervous. After it unwillingly saved Klimovski, the VMRO-DPMNE thought that the DA would not make any problems with the ratification of this contract in Parliament.

It turned out that the VMRO-DPMNE and DA leaders again had coffee somewhere and reached an amicable settlement as they were smart enough to realize that coalition squabbles and the fall of Government would not be helpful for their presidential candidates. In this way they have only postponed the falling apart of the coalition at the seams until after the presidential elections. The campaign and the elections will be a chance for further inter-coalition skirmishes as each coalition party has its own presidential candidate.

For example, the Government and Tupurkovski, who is Director of the Government's Directorate for Reconstruction and Development, have their own concept for the salvation of FENI, a ferro-nickel producing plant whose (un)profitability has been the object of dispute for over 20 years. The Government is negotiating its purchase with some Israeli businessmen and their American partners. At a recent Government session Tupurkovski presented a preliminary contract his Agency had concluded with a British partner who had, allegedly, offered better terms than the Israelis. Incidentally, answering a reporter's question he stated his personal opinion that a better contract could have also been concluded for the sale of OKTA to the Greeks.

This should be fun! The people do not have enough either bread or fun. If they cannot have bread, let them at least have some fun.

AIM Skopje

ISO RUSI