1 Even if Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski would rather forget Kochani, he’ll be haunted by the tragedy at the illegal nightclub “Puls”, the 63 dead and more than 200 injured, for the rest of his term. Such was his luck, the greatest tragedy in modern Macedonian history occurred during his term. That said, he’s got the historic chance to change the system precisely during his term.
If he weren’t so carried away by his own propaganda, which expects us to talk only about nice things, Mickoski would see all the irregularities, loopholes and criminal practices that led to this tragedy. Kochani wasn’t an ordinary accident. It was a crime committed by a system that is deeply corrupt, from the lowest local level to the highest level of the state. Some will be convicted, others cleared of the charges, the trial will drag on, possibly into the term of some next government, but now it’s no longer a question of the individual responsibility of the accused, but about what the Government and the ruling coalition will do, at both state and local level, to ensure that Kochani never happens again.
Unfortunately, even after nine months, there’s been no change.
A prime minister isn’t expected to tell us how he personally feels, but what he’s done to change the corrupt system. What he’s done to free institutions from party captivity, from corruption, from “my people versus your people”, from incompetent lackeys, and from local thugs protected by the party…
It’s not his job to interpret the decisions of the Prosecutor’s Office or the judiciary. It’s not his job to tell journalists what they should write and how they should write it. It’s not his job to tell the Assembly whether there should be inquiry committees or not. It’s not his job to tell the opposition whether their leader is good enough or whether they should replace him
Prime Minister Mickoski interferes in everyone’s business, except his own.
His job is to provide good governance. To ensure that anything that could be described as a criminal practice doesn’t lead to another Kochani.
Look around you – from the various Winterlands pompously opened by municipalities like New Year’s magic shows, yet operating illegally, to faulty hydrants in building entrances, lifts left unchecked for years, blocked parking lots and pavements, dubious hotels that somehow obtained permits, multi-storey garages where smoking is allowed, makeshift nightclubs in the middle of residential buildings, bridges that haven’t been inspected for decades, unregistered vehicles on the roads, and boats on the lakes…
I don’t want to jinx it, but the list of everything that could become another Kochani is alarmingly long.
2 The prime minister won’t have it easy. He can no longer hide behind excuses for inaction because now he holds power in the municipalities as well, which means he’ll have to clean up from the lowest to the highest level. And if he starts cleaning up without discrimination, his own people will hate him too.
Once he’s done that, we can talk about nice things. Perhaps we might even rejoice. And then we’ll remember him for the right reasons. But we certainly won’t remember him for finishing third, behind Ireland and Denmark.
2 Kochani was supposed to be a collective wake-up call.
Nothing has changed. And who, exactly, is supposed to make changes? Do you really expect those changes to be delivered by MPs who couldn’t muster the patience to listen to the parents of the children who died in the Kochani nightclub, during a session of the Inquiry Commission they barely agreed to convene?
For nine months now, people have been out on the streets holding pictures of their children, and with comfort no longer possible, they’re desperately seeking justice, and the MPs, who are supposed to be their elected representatives, are harassing them with procedural requests for breaks. Trying to buy time so they can call party headquarters and ask for instructions on what to think. Procedurally speaking, it would have been easier if that Inquiry Commission hadn’t been held at all. They didn’t even need to work. All they needed to do was claim their per diems, charge travel expenses, and show the parents some respect by listening to what they had to say.
However, they are devoid of empathy. They’re interested in nothing beyond party squabbles and petty point-scoring. As if the parents of the dead children hadn’t already been drained by the family tragedy, the MPs are draining them even further. The same way they’ve been draining the rest of us for almost 35 years now.
Those are the very people expected to amend laws. These are also the people who will supposedly bring the European Union back home, since we can’t join the EU.
We’re at the mercy of that amorphous mass. Whatever the party says and – that’s where their personal opinions end.
3 We’ve found a creative solution to unblock negotiations with the EU.
The Bulgarian government has fallen.
4 When a government or ruling party publicly stigmatises journalists it dislikes, it should come as no surprise when a party member released from a mental hospital attacks a newsroom.
How about we start writing only about nice things. Things considered nice only if the government says they’re nice.
Translated by Nikola Gjelincheski
