1  An idle mind is the devils’ playground.

Do people in the government really have so little to do that they’re bringing up the issue of changing the national coat of arms? Why stir up problems where none exist?  The whole world is on edge, waiting to see what ingenious idea Trump will come up with next, marker in hand, while we go back to dealing with childhood frustrations.

Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski says that “we are one of the two post-socialist countries that still have the old national coat of arms.” Is the coat of arms really such a burning issue? A country that thrived under socialism, after its people actively fought against fascism and eventually secured independence, a country with governments that have been changing for thirty years and still haven’t managed to even whitewash what was built under socialism, a country whose cultural heritage, from antiquity to the anti-fascist struggle, is being restored by foreign embassies, will now focus on changing its coat of arms because it’s – socialist.

What exactly about the coat of arms doesn’t reflect Macedonia properly? Is there anything non-Macedonian on it, even if it’s socialist? And which symbol on the coat of arms has offended the national pride of any citizen?

The coat of arms isn’t the problem. Socialism isn’t the problem. The problem is that we’re a post-socialist country that has been sinking into ruthless looting by the ruling elites for 33 years. And we still haven’t had a government that’s willing to change that.

Changing the coat of arms doesn’t just mean changing the ID cards, passports, report cards, state institution plates, tenders, and public procurements of all of that. When the issue of the coat of arms comes up, it’s followed by a discussion about changing the anthem, then including the Albanian language in the Constitution, renaming the streets in Tetovo after Ballists… Can’t you be more creative when it comes to topics that would stir up a new wave of hatred between Macedonians and Albanians? Why start a war over some emblems.

Coalition partner Arben Taravari also drew attention, saying that we should first resolve ethnic issues, and only then focus on economic matters, anti-corruption efforts, and our European integration. As a medical specialist, he surely knows that poverty and corruption don’t kill, but if the coat of arms is socialist, that’s a proper life-or-death situation.

Why would we worry about high electricity bills and expensive groceries in supermarkets? Let’s worry about the coat of arms instead.

In the spirit of our country’s multiethnic character, both Macedonians and Albanians have adopted the Turkish word fukara when referring to a poor person. Albanians say “Hem fukara, hem fodull” (poor, but arrogant), while Macedonians use the Turkish expression “Hem fukara, hem siki büyük” (poor, but with big dick energy). Pardon my French, but regardless of which one is correct, in Macedonian, Albanian, and Turkish – fukara is fukara. We understand each other, both the first and the second, and even the third. And all the others from the Preamble of the Constitution.

2 On December 13, 2014, just over ten years ago, in the column “I Want to Say,” while I was still working at “Vest” I wrote the following:

“There will be no recommendation for the start of Macedonia’s EU accession talks yet again. As if that matters. What truly matters is that, now that the coat of arms will be changed, the quality of life will improve significantly. The good neighbourly relations as well.”

This was written in the period following the mass student protests that preceded the “information bombs” regarding the wiretapped conversations, when the coalition government of VRMO-DPMNE and DUI, under Nikola Gruevski, proposed a series of constitutional changes, including the change of the state coat of arms.

If you don’t remember, here’s the LINK to that column. If you don’t feel like reading the whole thing, read only point 5.

Anyway. What I’m trying to say is: 10 years have passed, yet it feels as though they haven’t. We’re back in the devil’s playground once again.

3 I can’t understand the Macedonians who are happy that Ukraine might lose the territories occupied by Russia forever. They’re gloating that Ukrainians have been dying in vain for the past three years. According to them, they should have surrendered immediately.

Literally tomorrow, God forbid, Trump could extend his hand to Putin and say: I give you Ukraine. Just like in the 1990s when Tudjman and Milosevic divided Bosnia and Herzegovina on a napkin.

It that something to be happy about?

Putin launched his aggression against Ukraine with a campaign claiming that the Ukrainian language doesn’t exist, that it’s actually Russian, that Ukrainians are a made-up nation, that Ukraine is a product of communism, and that Ukrainian history is simply Russian history.

Similarly, the official Bulgarian state policy says that the Macedonian language doesn’t exist, that it’s actually Bulgarian, that Macedonians are a made-up nation, that Macedonia is Tito’s product, and that Macedonian history is Bulgarian history.

In the Russian Duma, MPs chanted “Ukraine is Russia.” In the Bulgarian Parliament in 2022, a group of MPs held up banners reading “Macedonia is Bulgaria.”

Imagine if Trump were to shake hands with Rumen Radev tomorrow. At this rate, that’s doesn’t seem so far-fetched anymore.

And what do we do if, after the war in Ukraine ends, Putin sets his sights on the Baltic countries, perhaps aiming to protect the one Russian living there. And one of the Bulgarian politicians, a coalition partner in the new government, says that Bulgaria is wherever at least one Bulgarian lives. If that happens, will Macedonians still be happy about that?

And the leaders of the Western countries of the European Union, sceptical of the peace agreement between Trump and Putin, are asking themselves: What would stop Putin from returning to Ukraine again in a few months, or from attacking a NATO country in a few years? They demand some kind of guarantees.

It’s the same situation we face, where we have been desperately seeking guarantees from the EU for years. What would stop Bulgaria from blocking Macedonia’s European integration by continuing to deny Macedonian identity and right to self-determination, even if we change the Constitution? And the answer we get from there is: There are no guarantees.

Which goes to show that it’s every man for himself.

4 This week was marked by two initiatives aimed at limiting the privileges of officials and MPs. One was submitted by the parliamentary group of Levica, proposing a reduction in MPs’ travel expenses. The other is the decision of the Constitutional Court to oblige MPs to review the law that reduces their penalties and allows the statute of limitations to expire faster.

Is there really anyone that naïve in this country as to expect MPs and officials to deny themselves privileges?

 

Translated by Nikola Gjelincheski