1On the eve of Independence Day, September 8, I was reminded of an interview with the late Ratka Dimitrova that she gave to our news outlet in 2016, when we marked the 25th anniversary of the declaration of an independent Macedonian state. Mrs. Dimitrova was the coordinator of the VMRO-DPMNE parliamentary group in the first composition of the Assembly of the independent Republic of Macedonia, from 1991 to 1994. Reflecting on all those exciting years, she concluded the interview with the words: “I’m sorry that today there isn’t someone who’d stand at the rostrum and openly say to a member of the opposition: Look, I know your father, you are one of us, and our views aren’t that different.”
I recalled this emotional remark from the respected Mrs.Dimitrova when I heard how Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski thanked former Deputy Prime Minister Fatmir Bytyqi during the launch of a new foreign investment. The contract with the German company for lithium batteries was signed by Bytyqi from SDSM last September, and this September, Mickoski from VMRO had the honour of laying the foundation stone. On that occasion, Mickoski said: “Fatmir Bytyqi claimed he was the one who secured the investment, so I want to thank him on my behalf for leading the process to where he led it, although I regret that he couldn’t complete it.” And, instead of stopping there, he added: “I suppose he failed to convince the citizens the same way he was able to convince his fellow party members on May 8th, so he experienced the debacle he experienced.”
What kind of gratitude is that? Is Mickoski that unable of rising above the situation that he turned a gesture of gratitude for an investment into a mockery? Why does he feel the need to constantly repeat that he’s won? Is he still not convinced he’s the Prime Minister?
If someone deserves to be congratulated, congratulate them. If someone deserves to be thanked, thank them, don’t mock them. Be a gentleman. If something deserves to be praised, praise it. That way, you leave room to be praised in the future as well. A true gentleman.
2 We are who we are. And there aren’t many of us. Our country is small. We’re few. And we’ll be even fewer. As long as political leaders continue to favour the incompetent merely for their votes, the competent will keep leaving. It’s not as if our political leaders are so old that they don’t need to care about the kind of state they’re creating. They’re in their forties. They’re digging a hole that they’ll end up falling into with us. At this rate, in twenty years, there won’t be anyone left to manage a hospital that will have to care for them.
“And our views aren’t that different,” the words of Ratka Dimitrova still ring in my ears, especially because she was the first coordinator of the VMRO-DPMNE parliamentary group in 1991, when we didn’t know if we’d do well as a country, when we faced obstacles from all sides, and woke up each morning in fear that the cannons that were already wreaking havoc in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina might thunder across our country as well, when our soldiers were dying in a foreign war and we didn’t know how to bring them back home.
And now, 33 years later, where does such hatred between the parties come from? As if they’re on the brink of war.
Regardless of who is in power, there must be education, there must be healthcare, there must be policing, there must be theatres, there must be roads and railways, there must be kindergartens, there must be electricity, rubbish must be collected, grass must be mown…
If we’re talking about civilized people, the differences between them would be in tax policies and the allocation of funds, whether more money should go to social policies, culture, defence, security… But, if we are talking about raging savages, then we should be genuinely concerned when someone is not given credit for their professionalism, knowledge, and experience, simply because they’re affiliated with one party or another. Maybe they’re not even affiliated with them and just had a different opinion.
In our country, the inter-party battle has nothing to do with ideology. Conservatives court the poor, social democrats flirt with the rich, sometimes they’re nationalists, and sometimes they’re environmentalists… That battle is brutal and intolerant because it’s a fight for money. They’re so desperate in their ideological offer that their only offer before elections is a promise to increase the salaries of the public administration and pensions, occasionally beating their chests about the true essence of Macedonian or Albanian identity. At the same time, they label the people who need to provide those salaries and pensions as “one of these” and “one of those” companies, and based on that difference they are fall out of favour with one or the other party.
Political culture here is driven only by the motivation of who’ll benefit the most. In 2024, we should go 33 years back. All the way to the first lesson in basic decency.
3 That’s why I’m not too surprised that former Minister of Culture Bisera Kostadinovska – Stojchevska used her official credit card to buy teddy bears, suitcases, and tights.
It doesn’t matter if it’s a teddy bear, cheap or expensive jewellery, a rented apartment, a luxury hotel, fast food or an expensive dinner, a plane ticket, 2 euros or 2,000 euros, 5 million euros or “5 percent of the total deal”… The attitude towards the official card reflects the politicians’ attitude towards their office. They think, I’ve been appointed a minister, so I’ll do what I want. I’ve been given a credit card, and I’ll make sure it doesn’t go to waste. I’ll buy whatever I want.
Bisera is just one good example to expose how our money is being spent. Oh, if only it were just Bisera. And if only it involved just suitcases and dinners. How many times has the media reported on the misuse of official cars for personal purposes? Yet, they turn a blind eye to that because they don’t even consider it abuse of office. And that, too, is a matter of following the law.
Will anyone return money to the budget? Ok, they don’t have to end up in prison, but let’s apply the same interest rates for late payments that the IRS uses on ordinary mortals, and let these big shots return our money that way.
It’s pointless to keep talking about this. In the end, it all comes down to watching and poking fun. Why are they misleading us and making people anxious if these cases are never resolved in court?
The parties in power change. But their habits – don’t.
Nonetheless, that’s not a reason for us not to celebrate our Independence Day with joy because we have the privilege our ancestors didn’t – to live in a Macedonian state.
I wish you all good health. To many happy returns.
P.S. The interview with Ratka Dimitrova, published on September 6, 2016 can be found at this link.
Translated by Nikola Gjelincheski
