1 How will we wash our name clean after bringing the incompetent Danela Arsovska into power as mayor of Skopje? By putting citizens through so much trouble that they’ll think we’ve saved them from Danela.

The behaviour of the ruling VMRO-DPMNE in Skopje follows this logic. The capital is a hostage to their idea of saving us from their Danela. The government is watching and poking fun as Skopje suffocates in rubbish and traffic chaos, all in effort to make us forget they installed her as mayor. To make us forget they hold the majority in the Skopje City Council and in most Skopje municipalities, and recently, in all state institutions. The solution is in their hands. Surely they didn’t realise Skopje was on the verge of collapse overnight, did they? For two and a half years, VMRO-DPMNE has known that their candidate is incompetent. And instead of using their majority in the Council to take the City into their own hands and fix the consequences of her incompetence, they’ve left her sink even more. After all, proving she’s incompetent won’t make the buses come on their own, nor will Skopje clean itself.

Look how beautifully she’s sinking, but we, VMRO-DPMNE, will swoop in to save you with our ideas. Meanwhile, we, the citizens, are collateral damage in the battle between the ruling coalition and the mayor of Skopje. There’s no need for VMRO-DMNE to keep proving that Danela is an incompetent spitfire. It’s evident that she’s not fit for the job. We’ve known that for a long time.

In fact, who in their right mind would vote for Danela now? We saw that in the parliamentary elections, when VMRO-DPMNE didn’t back her, she won only 3,500 votes, with just over 1,500 of those coming from Skopje. I’ve got more contacts in my phone than that. But then again, who’d vote for someone who’s deliberately sacrificing the citizens? The guys from VMRO left her ruin the city at our expense.

2 Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Nikoloski stated that “unfortunately, the people of Skopje will have to wait for the problem with public city transportation to be resolved after the local elections.”

And what about next autumn? So close, yet so far.

So, either they’ve already bought the buses and will deploy them immediately after the local elections, which I find unlikely, because you can’t buy 250 buses at a supermarket. Or, perhaps they know how to fix the problem with the public transport in the capital but are keeping it to themselves. They’ll wait for the people of Skopje to vote for their candidate again, and only then will they let us in on the secret. And that plan stands only if that mayor avoids clashing with citizens. If not, we’ll have to wait another four years to be saved again. They’ll fix their mistakes using our money.

Considering how much VMRO-DPMNE loves notarised statements, it wouldn’t be a bad idea for the next elections to have their mayoral candidate, along with the members of the Council, sign a declaration promising they won’t harass citizens. Let them make their coalition partners sign notarised statements too, so they can’t use the excuse that they don’t have a majority.

Deputy Prime Minister Nikoloski said, “public transport in Skopje is far from what it should be, but everyone should bear their own responsibility.”

So, citizens of Skopje, bear your own responsibility. All those who voted for free public transport shouldn’t be late for work, shouldn’t complain that their children are missing classes, that they didn’t make it to a doctor’s appointment… Next time, knock some sense into yourself. Perhaps, as adult citizens, they’ve by now realised that nothing in life is free. Let them think carefully who they vote for.

3 In fact, it’s clear how much the party cares about the citizens. It will only use them for short-term profit, as is often the case. We seek solutions from politicians in vain, because they won’t find them unless there’s something in it for them – whether political or otherwise.

That’s why our expectations are getting lower and lower. That’s why people only care about finding a way to leave the country. Meanwhile, they focus on solving their immediate problems – getting to work on time, not dying while waiting for a check-up, not getting chronically sick from breathing polluted air… What’s all of this, if not sheer survival? Making ends meet until the next lie during the elections. Simply put, we no longer have the strength to articulate a protest, a rebellion, or defiance. We know politicians won’t find a solution. Citizens are the last thing on their mind. That’s why we treat them like a natural disaster. We just hang on for dear life.

4 A proof that the government is made up not of politicians with a genuine sense of public interest, but rather of party apparatchiks, is the banal case of the congratulations on Radmila Shekerinska’s election as Deputy Secretary General of NATO.

U.S. Ambassador Angela Aggeler congratulated Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski and the Government on social media for their support of Shekerinska’s candidacy, while Mickoski called Shekerinska and congratulated her personally.

We’re not talking about a personal call. We’re talking about an official congratulatory message from the Government that was never shared with the public. We’re talking about a public record that hasn’t been filed in the archives. President Gordana Siljanovska – Davkova, the Supreme Commander of the Army, which is part of NATO, also personally called Shekerinska to congratulate her. She too failed to leave a public record. As if it were a private event, that you choose to congratulate her privately.

Privately, perhaps they can’t stand the sight of her. The Prime Minister said that despite the challenges, they had no doubt they would support her, whatever that was supposed to mean. We may not like it, but it’s stupid to be against one of our own. And if they had no doubt they were going to support her and believe they made the right choice by doing so, then they could have at least written a public congratulatory note, instead of staying silent while congratulations arrive from abroad and instead of waiting for journalistic questions, preferably pre-arranged ones, so they’d be able to say they personally called her to congratulate her.

Ultimately, don’t view this as a success for Radmila Shekerinska. See it as a success for Macedonia, one of the youngest and smallest NATO members, now holding a prominent position in the Alliance. Don’t congratulate Shekerinska. Congratulate Macedonia.

Translated by Nikola Gjelincheski