1 The 200 private buses blockading Ilinden boulevard in the centre of Skopje was a mirror image of the harsh reality we live in. A combination of corrupt and incompetent politicians who lie to their voters, immoral businessmen leeching large amounts of public money off politicians and an inefficient and corrupt judiciary, which has shattered our hopes it will ever deliver justice. All that can be summed up in just one word: Sue!
What about the citizens? What citizens? Does anyone take into account the needs and interests of the citizens?
Sue! That’s how Skopje Mayor Danela Arsovska will solve the problem with the private transport companies which are part of the public city transport network. She refuses to pay the debt although she has signed a contract with them and says: Sue! I won’t pay you, sue! Typical business ethics of a businessman of her level. I bought myself a jeep, I don’t have money to pay you. Sue me. I went on holiday, I’ll pay you when I come back. Bro, why are you making such a big deal about money? I don’t have it at the moment, what can I do. Sue me.
Only in this case, if the City of Skopje ever loses the lawsuit, it’s not Danela who’ll pay the fine. In this case, “Sue me” is a typical way of abusing public funds. As if this is a private lease of a sports hall, so you refuse to pay electricity and let them sue you. She even says she’s not aware she’s received a pre-suit notice letter. That’s how things are done according to Macedonian business ethics – so you’d be able to liquidate the company from the time you are warned until you get sued. And by the time the court reaches a verdict, there’ll be no one to collect your debt from.
Taxpayers will pay the fine. And the citizens of Skopje, who were left without their buses, will also lose their money.
2 I remember that this time last year the taxi drivers from Skopje were complaining that if Danela fulfilled her promise of free and efficient public transport they’d lose their jobs, because no one would get in their cars. They took Danela very seriously when in October 2021 she said that “The procurement of 250 eco buses will be realized in the first 82 days. These solutions don’t take months or years, they are solved immediately”. One might think the buses are ready in some factory, packed up and are just waiting for her to take office and for her patron Hristijan Mickoski to become prime minister after early elections and – the buses will be on their way to Skopje.
Whereas their friend Lenin, as a typical Macedonian businessman clinging to a politician who can bring him profit from public money, said that Skopje got “a titan-woman who will show you what and how much can be done for Skopje, no matter how evil and unjust were the attacks from despicable people and freaks”. On 2 November 20221, right after Danela won the local elections, he publicly offered himself to: “always be there to help free of charge and to do everything I know and can do for my hometown Skopje”.
Well, then, why is he mad at Danela for not paying him? She took his words literally and expected him to work for her free of charge. Did he too become “despicable and boring”, so when he realized that she was of no use to him, the “titan-woman” became “a thug”.
But the most entertaining role in the city circus is played by VMRO-DPMNE. They’re dedicated to convincing themselves that Danela is a SDSM candidate. Not only are they turning a blind eye to reality, but they’ve also put a black veil over their eyes so they wouldn’t be able to see at all. However, despite all the pathology and short memory in this society, they can’t really convince all of us that Danela wasn’t brought to power by the guys from VMRO, who voted for her as commanded. We’re not that soft in the head. It was almost March when Mickoski, along with the best manager in the world, was going to buy buses for Skopje, and she was praising him that “the president of VMRO-DPMNE Hristijan Mickoski is working proactively to improve the situation in Skopje”.
And Danela, just as the party which made her mayor, lives in denial of reality. Despite the authentic photos and videos of crowds at bus stops and on the buses, she’s cold-heartedly convincing us that public transport is normal, but the media is spreading speculations, that’s why everyone hates her and threatens her. The fact there are crowds is because just want to hang out. After almost three years of Covid, they feel like getting to know each other a bit better, to have a chat, to make friends… In her eyes, Skopje probably already has free and fast transportation. Even the buses are here and they’re free of charge, since she doesn’t intent to pay without a lawsuit. And they’re really fast. That’s why we can’t see them.
3 The state government and SDSM are getting their kicks from watching and poking fun. It’s as if someone has put a veil over their eyes as well. As if they aren’t part of the play.
They were arrogant and sarcastic when they were saying: sure, vote for Danela and see how it works for you… and people did vote for her. Petre Shilegov used to fight with dissatisfied citizens. He’d say to them: Don’t vote for me. Who cares if you don’t vote for me. And lo and behold – they didn’t vote for him.
Danela was voted in by the guys from VMRO, but Petre Shilegov lost because of the disappointed unaffiliated citizens. However, SDSM still can’t understand that the unaffiliated citizens are not to blame for the recent defeats.
Dimitar Kovachevski makes witty remarks at party rallies, party members applaud him and say “good job, boss, we’re the best”. However, there are people who don’t go to party events and try to point out the government’s mistakes without any prejudice, they send signals that something is not ok, and sometimes they even have something smart to say. And SDSM gives them the cold shoulder and insults them. It calls them neutro-vmro scum. And the government responds to criticism by saying: This is how you’ll bring Gruevski back!
They’re saying: “You voted for Danela, didn’t you? You had it coming. Citizens should think twice about who they vote for”.
Citizens will indeed think twice. But, what about you, people in the government? How about you start thinking about the citizens, and not just the party and business interests of those close to you?
Give them a chance in 2017. Give them a chance in 2018. Give them a chance in 2019… It will be 2023 in no time.
We’re not the ones who’ll bring Gruevski back.
5 More than 400 students at the Faculty of Law of the South East European University in Tetovo, from 2008 to 2012, were given BA in Law certificates as if they had studied for four years, although they had credit points only for three years. Over 200 of them passed the bar exam before actually graduating.
I don’t know why we’re complicating things. Why don’t children whose parents are DUI party member just get BA certificates the moment they’re born? When they’re given their birth certificate at the registry office they should also be issued a BA certificate at the request of their parents.
Isn’t the completion certificate of the bar exam a human right as well? Why wait for it for 20 years, when they can get it at birth.
5 The US sanctions on corrupt politicians from the Balkans are effective and the USA will continue to sanction corrupt officials from the region, says Gabriel Escobar, US Deputy Assistant Secretary. He says that “when citizens find out what kind of corruption the sanctioned politicians were involved in, the leaders should remove those persons from their positions and from the electoral party lists”.
The goal of the USA is to sanction the corrupt politicians from the Western Balkans and at the same time to expose politicians who have been stealing our money, so we wouldn’t vote for them, since parties would give up on them and would not run them for office.
I’m surprised by the enthusiasm of the American administration and the confidence they have in the democratic capacity of the parties and party leaders from the Western Balkans. Americans really think that the majority of citizens are bothered by corrupt politicians.
Translated by Nikola Gjelincheski
