POKING FUN

by | 12 November, 2021

Oh, regime, regime, you’re going down regime…

1 Just poke fun at them and pretend you don’t live here. Poking fun is a great thing. But it stops being funny when it occurs to you that you too are part of all that fun.

For example, I’d really like to approach the events of the “dramatic Thursday,” when Zaev’s Government was supposed to be brought down, with the same ease demonstrated by Hristijan Mickoski. While the suspense in the Assembly lasted, and people were biting their nails in front of their TVs and were cheering about who’d win on the Assembly Channel, Mickoski said that he had lectures at the university all day and didn’t know what was happening. Ok, life goes on, the Government will be brought down, tomorrow he’ll be the prime-minister designate… That afternoon, when he saw things weren’t going his way, he said he was sick and tired of politics. However, while he still has some free time, since he won’t have any once he becomes prime minister tomorrow and starts working 24/7, he went to the hospital and boasted on Facebook that he had a lump of tissue removed from his neck.

That there is the public message of the future prime minister, as opposed to the message of the current prime minister who resigned in a rush of emotion, and when he saw he blew it he changed his mind and said “No, bring me down if you can.“

It’s a pity the Government wasn’t brought down. It’s not about Macedonia, but the world lost so much because Mickoski won’t be the prime minister. Since, he was going to solve the energy crises that all countries are struggling with. Trajko Slavevski was going to save us from inflation and rising food prices – something Angela Merkel can’t pull off in Germany. But she’s leaving anyway, so she doesn’t care much. Velo Markovski would make Covid go away. Apasiev was going to save us from arms costs for NATO. And we wouldn’t have to change the old boards to add Albanian. Because he was going to repeal the bilingualism law.

2 It’s a pity the Government wasn’t brought down. Because that way DUI would go into opposition. Although, it’s not like Albanian voters have another serious choice. With such opposition from the other Albanian parties, bringing down DUI is science fiction.
In fact, we should have realized that the initiative to bring down the Government wasn’t serious the moment when the Minister of Agriculture Arianit Hoxha was talking about overthrowing the regime. He resigned after failing to oust the Government. That is, he failed to oust himself. Can you imagine how Hoxha must have felt every day before going to work in the ministry? The minister looks at himself in the mirror, all dressed up, and says to the mirror: “Oh, regime, regime, you’re going down regime.”

But it wasn’t a regime until the day after the elections, on 1 November, when Arianit Hoxha said Zaev shouldn’t resign. He said “it is necessary for the ruling majority to continue.” A few days later, the majority turned into a regime when the State Election Commission accepted DUI’s objection for a re-run in one polling place in Zelino, where Besa had won.

So, the re-run in Zelino, which by the way didn’t happen because the court didn’t accept DUI’s demands, became a key factor for the stability of the ruling majority, the future of the country in NATO, the Prespa Agreement, the negotiations with Bulgaria, the love between Levica and Albanians. Also, for the peace in the country. And for world peace.

It’s also a key factor for the realization that the word “Besa (Oath)” changes its meaning when it becomes a party name, because politicians sometimes change their opinions more often than their underwear.

3 And here we are now, after failing to bring down the Government, the opposition led by VMRO-DPMNE is demanding early elections. Come on then.

If we are to organize elections, the Assembly should be dissolved. If the Assembly is to be dissolved, 61 MPs should vote for it… And we go back to square one – the “dramatic Thursday.”

So, 61 signatures – won’t do. Waving sheets of paper at press conferences – won’t do. Taking photos with forced smiles – won’t do… 61 MPs need to raise their hand in the Assembly. Calling a new election requires a majority. I don’t know which part of this simple sentence isn’t clear.

4 Now that Zaev has earned himself another chance for a make-up exam he should think how to use it this time. And all those from SDSM should stop mocking VMRO-DPMNE for failing to bring down the Government and start dealing with their own mistakes and the fact they’ve been doing their job irresponsibly. They should stop whining, Zaev, please don’t leave us alone, don’t resign. It’s not like they lost the local elections in almost all the large municipalities without a reason.

And they shouldn’t be so laid-back about the whole situation and expect the unaffiliated voters to vote for them because there’s no better choice.

5The failed attempt to bring down the Government isn’t a victory for SDSM or DUI. However, it can serve as a lesson for the opposition MPs. If they’re smart, maybe they now see how unsustainable their behaviour is when they block the work of the Assembly about everything.

It doesn’t seem right that when the MPs of the ruling majority come in protective suits to vote for a package of measure for the Covid crisis – it’s called bioterrorism, and when the opposition MPs come in protective suits to bring down the Government – it’s called the pinnacle of democracy. They were making fun of Talat Xhaferi when amid the crisis he begged them to enter the hall, and they were just sitting in front of the door, and now they’re accusing the MPs from the ruling majority of deliberately not entering the hall so that there would be no quorum.

That practice is called – stewing in one’s own juice. The only problem is that we’re all stewing in their juice. Especially since it has become a way of parliamentary behaviour. And especially because, in my view, even after this lesson the opposition won’t deal with anything else but blocking.

Do you think they have a vision for the future? They didn’t even have an idea what to do the day after they’d topple the Government.
This situation is no laughing matter and certainly not something to poke fun at. We quickly forgot what it’s like when VMRO-DPMNE gets their hands on power. Let alone in combination with DUI…

Translated by Nikola Gjelincheski