Macedonia to hold snap elections

[Risto the Great]

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/03/02/macedonia-hold-snap-elections

Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski has agreed to early general elections next month after his ruling coalition failed to agree on a presidential candidate.

"For the sake of state and national interest I accept early parliamentary elections to be held" on April 27, Gruevski told a meeting of his VMRO-DPMNE party, paving the way for a possible split with the Democratic Union for Integration (DUI).

The smaller ethnic Albanian party had called for snap polls after rejecting an April 13 re-election bid by President Gjorge Ivanov, the candidate backed by Gruesvski's conservative VMRO-DPMNE.

Local media said parliament will likely be dissolved by Wednesday ahead of the snap elections on April 27, when a presidential run-off would also be held if no winner emerges on April 13.

A voter survey in December showed the ruling party would win 59 of the 123 seats in parliament in early elections, to 36 for the opposition Social Democrats.

Gruevski's cabinet has been in power since June 2011.

Relations between Macedonians and ethnic Albanians have been strained since the end of a seven-month conflict in 2001 that pitted the landlocked Balkan country's armed forces against ethnic Albanian rebels.

Ethnic Albanians make up some 25 per cent of Macedonia's population of two million.

[George S.]

achieved ver little & prolonged our misery.He is offside with the Albanians snap electoions will cost them votes.

[Vangelovski]

http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/arti...-for-elections

Macedonia Parties Mobilize Ethnic Supporters

As elections in April approach, the two main parties in government are mobilizing their own ethnic Macedonian and Albanian electorates in order to strengthen their bargaining positions in the next government.

The junior party in Macedonia's government, the Democratic Union for Integration, DUI, on Monday called on ethnic Albanians to mobilize to give the DUI more leverage in the next government.

Sounding confident of victory within the ethnic Albanian bloc in the April early elections, the DUI spokesperson, Bujar Osmani, said the party needed at least 25 seats to boost its position in government.
The party currently controls 14 of the 123 seats in the country's assembly.

“These elections will determine who will be more influential in the next government - the [main ruling party] VMRO DPMNE or the DUI - which is why we ask for support from Albanians, so that we can win 25 seats,” Osmani said.

Two days earlier, the Prime Minister and leader of VMRO DPMNE, Nikola Gruevski, called on ethnic Macedonians also to mobilize - so that his party is less susceptible to blackmail and pressure from its ethnic Albanian partner, the DUI.

Gruevski, whose party controls just under half of the seats in parliament, on Saturday told a party congress that he needed a working majority of at least 62 seats.

With that number, he added, “no one could blackmail us as a party, as a coalition, as the Macedonian people and nation”, he told his supporters.

He said that the DUI wanted to put VMRO DPMNE in a position whereby they could demand one of the top three posts in the country as a condition for participation in the government.

“If VMRO DPMNE does not win 62 legislators, the DUI could either seek the Prime Minister's position, or that of speaker of parliament, or head of state,” Gruevski explained.

Ethnic Albanians make up roughly a quarter of the population of Macedonia. Since independence, it has been an unwritten rule that the strongest parties from both ethnic blocs should together form the government.

At the weekend, all the main political players agreed that early parliamentary elections should be held on April 27, in tandem with the second round of voting in the presidential election.

The agreement became clear after the DUI submitted an initiative on early elections to parliament on Friday, on the grounds that VMRO DPMNE had ignored its idea for a joint presidential candidate.

However, some opposition parties described the apparent crisis between VMRO DPMNE and the DUI as a fabrication - prearranged between the two of them in order to have an excuse to call early elections.

Both parties have an interest in early elections as recent opinion polls suggest they stand to do well, and so win another four-year term.

For Prime Minister Gruevski, who has held power since 2006, this will be the third time he has challenged the opposition in an early general election.

The last early general elections were held in Macedonia in 2011. Although Gruevski won, the main opposition Social Democrats made a strong showing. At present, VMRO DPMNE hold 56 seats in parliament, the Social Democrats 42, the DUI 14 and the opposition Democratic Party of Albanians, eight.

[Soldier of Macedon]

Ethnic Albanians make up roughly a quarter of the population of Macedonia. Since independence, it has been an unwritten rule that the strongest parties from both ethnic blocs should together form the government.

Are 62 seats enough for a party to form a government on their own without entering into a coalition with another party?

[Vangelovski]

Are 62 seats enough for a party to form a government on their own without entering into a coalition with another party?

61 seats would give you a majority. 120 seats in total. DPMNE has had an outright majority in the past, but still opted for a coalition with Albanians. But what Gruevski is saying about the Albanians being able to seek the position of PM or whatever unless DPMNE gets 62 seats is utter bullshit - they would never have enough seats to form government which is what is needed to take the PM position...or just gutless wankers like DPMNE (even if they had 62 seats they might just give it up).

[Gocka]

This is not surprising. I said it weeks ago that the albanians would go all out this time around to try and get an albanian into office. They wont be successful this time around, but I have a feeling that when they are eventually not successful they will turn to violence once again, and at the point anything is possible.

[Vangelovski]

This is not surprising. I said it weeks ago that the albanians would go all out this time around to try and get an albanian into office. They wont be successful this time around, but I have a feeling that when they are eventually not successful they will turn to violence once again, and at the point anything is possible.

Only if corporate America wants them to

[Risto the Great]

Only if corporate America wants them to

I would just say only if USA wants them to.

[Vangelovski]

I would just say only if USA wants them to.

You don't think the Albanians think for themselves?

[Gocka]

Haha I hope corporate America tries to come into Macedonia, we will suck them dry, they wont know what hit them.

On a serious note, I'm not sure that the US has that much control over what Macedonians will do but if they want the albanians to make trouble I'm pretty sure they can spur them on to do so. In 2001 it was because the US basically held Serbia down while the albanians threw punches that they got so self confident (and armed to the teeth by the Americans) that they said lets just keep on going. Lets be honest with out the strong backing of the US the albanians would not have separated Kosovo and they would not have stirred up trouble in Macedonia either.

Also this time around I dont think the US will jump to their defense. The only reason they did it last time is because they couldn't attack the same people they had just supported in Serbia.

Finally, of course the albanians think for themselves but I think their actions are heavily based on outside support. With out strong support from the west I dont think they have the balls to try what they did in 2001.

I think they will not succeed in getting their candidate for president, they will stir up some mild violence and will be pressured by the EU and the USA to settle down, at which point they probably will, then the Macedonians will be pressured to give them something in return, so instead of President maybe some other high ranking position.

[Vangelovski]

Lets be honest with out the strong backing of the US the albanians would not have separated Kosovo and they would not have stirred up trouble in Macedonia either.

That's a very inaccurate understanding of Kosovo and Macedonia. Kosovo has been an issue since the Ottoman era and the idea of a separate Kosovo republic has been around since the 1960's. The KLA were armed by western European countries for the most part and Serbia was bombed by NATO, but Albanian rebellion in Kosovo was not orchestrated by the west - it was merely assisted. It would have happened regardless. As to whether it would have succeded is debatable, but considering that Serb power collapsed and it lost its wars in Croatia and Bosnia, it was also likely to lose in Kosovo without the NATO bombing. Lets also not forget that Serbia was supplied by Russia - so neither side was fighting in isolation.

The same goes for Macedonia - conflict between Macedonians and Albanians has existed for at least 2-300 years. 2001 would have happened sooner or later regardless of foreign assistance to the NLA. Sure, Kosovo probably encouraged them, but it was not a KLA instigated rebellion. Albanians in Macedonia have their own specific interests and greivances (real or perceived). Albanians in Macedonia wanted to join up with Kosovo since the 1980's and the idea of a separate Albanian republic within a Macedonian federation has been around for a long time. That, however, has now mutated into turning all of Macedonia into an Albanian state - and they didn't need the Americans to tell them that one, they worked it out for themselves.

[Phoenix]

Haha I hope corporate America tries to come into Macedonia, we will suck them dry, they wont know what hit them.

On a serious note, I'm not sure that the US has that much control over what Macedonians will do but if they want the albanians to make trouble I'm pretty sure they can spur them on to do so. In 2001 it was because the US basically held Serbia down while the albanians threw punches that they got so self confident (and armed to the teeth by the Americans) that they said lets just keep on going. Lets be honest with out the strong backing of the US the albanians would not have separated Kosovo and they would not have stirred up trouble in Macedonia either.

Also this time around I dont think the US will jump to their defense. The only reason they did it last time is because they couldn't attack the same people they had just supported in Serbia.

Finally, of course the albanians think for themselves but I think their actions are heavily based on outside support. With out strong support from the west I dont think they have the balls to try what they did in 2001.

I think they will not succeed in getting their candidate for president, they will stir up some mild violence and will be pressured by the EU and the USA to settle down, at which point they probably will, then the Macedonians will be pressured to give them something in return, so instead of President maybe some other high ranking position.

I think this thread is morphing into something similar on another section...

Ultimately, this is what the USA does as a foreign policy ambition.
The USA likes providing a controllable degree of 'sovereignty' to aspirant countries. Give them the 'taste' but make sure that they're under no illusions that their hard 'earned' sovereignty or security is guaranteed...

In the current context it will be what the Ukraine is about to find out and it will be a similar policy that will eventually keep China in check.

[Vangelovski]

I think this thread is morphing into something similar on another section...

Ultimately, this is what the USA does as a foreign policy ambition.
The USA likes providing a controllable degree of 'sovereignty' to aspirant countries. Give them the 'taste' but make sure that they're under no illusions that their hard 'earned' sovereignty or security is guaranteed...

In the current context it will be what the Ukraine is about to find out and it will be a similar policy that will eventually keep China in check.

If that's the case Phoenix, then whats the point? What is the point of even having a Macedonian cause. Its all laid out for us, so why bother - just sit back and enjoy the ride.

I'd be interested to know who do you think manipulated VMRO (during the 19th Century) into organising a rebellion against the Ottoman authorities... I'd also be interested in your thoughts on why only a handful of individuals, like yourself, can think for themselves but no one else seems to be capable of it - they just dance to America's tune...or corporate America's tune? This should be an interesting example of psychoanalysis...

But you know what the really interesting thing is - how do all these things happen which are not in corporate America's or political America's interest!?!?!?! Seeing as they are able to control and manipulate the whole world, things like the Russian invasion of Crimea, the very existance of North Korea and China and the anti-American governments in South America should just not be...how is it that they all snuck under the American radar and what happened to this worldwide control/domination that the US has? Why isn't it crushing all its enemies?

[Big Bad Sven]

If that's the case Phoenix, then whats the point? What is the point of even having a Macedonian cause. Its all laid out for us, so why bother - just sit back and enjoy the ride.

The reason as to why the macedonian cause is going no where is because the macedonians are doing nothing and gave up.

The shiptars got support from the west because the west needed them and knew they would be good tools to achieve the wests ambition in yugoslavia, The kurds got the support from the west because the kurds offered something to america as well, just like how the angolans got USSR support because the soviets wanted to get into africa, or how the russians are behind armenia in getting land from Azerbaijan.

The ustashe and VMRO were supported by Italy and Hungary during the first yugoslavia because they used them as tools to destroy yugoslavia.

I bet you if the macedonians were very nationalist and military inclined towards yugoslavia in the 90's, the macedonians would of been armed and supported. Instead the macedonians sat on their hands and hoped the serbs would either forget about them or feel pity towards the macedonians (which they luckily did).

If there was some form of military activity in aegean macedonia, or even in the republic against the shiptars, im sure some larger country would support macedonia (for their own gains in the region of course). China or Russia would maybe support a macedonia to gain a foot hold in the balkans

But until then macedonians offer no value to the world powers or larger players in the region, we are just push overs.

And from what i remember reading a while back, countries like Romania, bulgaria and serbia did assist VMRO with arms mainly due to keep bleeding the ottomans

[Gocka]

[QUOT] The KLA were armed by western European countries for the most part and Serbia was bombed by NATO, but Albanian rebellion in Kosovo was not orchestrated by the west - it was merely assisted. It would have happened regardless. As to whether it would have succeeded is debatable, but considering that [/QUOTE]

That exactly what I said Tom, I didn't say the west orchestrated it. Everyone knows what the aspirations of the albanians are. I merely said that I dont think they would have succeeded was it not for western arming and bombing.

Even in Macedonia, with our tiny and poorly equipped armed forces the albanian terrorists had to be evacuated via nato helicopters because he had them surrounded and probably would have killed or captured most of them. Now minus the american ammunition and tactical gear and how far would they have gotten?

Maybe it all would have happened eventually but I am pretty confident at least in Macedonia that the conflict would not have happened and we would not have the OFA today.