Filipche calls PM Mickoski “idiot”; VMRO‑DPMNE condemns the remark

On 1 October 2026 Venko Filipche, leader of SDSM, publicly insulted Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski at a press conference in the Assembly, calling him an “idiot” and triggering a sharp reaction from VMRO‑DPMNE which described the remarks as hate speech and improper language.

Filipche used the floor to sharply criticise the government’s handling of North Macedonia’s European perspective, saying the country has been pushed into isolation by current leadership and warning of negative social and economic consequences.

Speaking about the EU accession outlook, Filipche told journalists that North Macedonia was not among the countries with a clear roadmap for membership by 2030. He said: "By 2030, the door to Europe is open — Albania, Montenegro, Ukraine and Moldova will become member states. We are not there. I do not know if you are aware of the political weight of this moment in which, after more than 30 years, we are at a dead end for Europe. By the personal desire of Hristijan Mickoski. Are you aware that there is a clear, clean roadmap for four countries and we are not on it?"

Insult and warning

During the same address Filipche attacked the prime minister’s public stance on identity issues and used strong language directly at Mickoski: "At the same time, Hristijan Mickoski still plays the patriot, he will defend the name, the language, the culture, the identity, and everything is preserved in the international agreement. They recognise that. He talks nonsense. Iceland did not want to join the European Union, yet Iceland is part of the single market. So can such an idiot be the complete person? To isolate us completely? Does he think we are naive? Does he think people are naïve? What does he want to achieve?"

Filipche also warned that a continued course toward isolation would lead to poverty and out-migration of young people. He said: "I would leave history to historians. I want us to talk about the future. Let historians speak about what happened, how it happened."

Addressing the prime minister ahead of the expected visit by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Filipche urged Mickoski to reconsider his approach: "To Hristijan I want to say, think carefully. If necessary, do not sleep tonight. What will you tell von der Leyen tomorrow? Do not play with the country's future, because future generations may judge you."

VMRO‑DPMNE parliamentary coordinator Nikola Micevski responded at a separate press conference in the Assembly, calling the language unacceptable and again labelling it hate speech. "Filipche is losing control; he called the prime minister an idiot with an insult. This is a shame for the Macedonian political scene, for SDSM and for Filipche as its leader. Such disgraceful insults against a head of government do not befit an opposition that aspires to be in power someday. This is hate speech and the words of a man who clearly finds himself in serious crisis and complicated condition. Filipche manifests strong fear and gives the impression that he is pressured by internal divisions and pressures," Micevski said.

Micevski also questioned the suitability of that vocabulary from a physician and academic: "Let each ask themselves: would you entrust responsibility and the management of your lives to a person who in public communication uses vocabulary like 'idiot'? Allow me to state that such vocabulary does not befit a professor, a doctor and a politician. We are truly concerned. This is not only a matter of upbringing but also of how one behaves under political pressure. Why is he so nervous and why does he insist on capitulation to Bulgaria?"

VMRO‑DPMNE said its MPs condemn what they called Filipche's hate speech. The exchange underlines rising tensions between the two main parties ahead of high‑profile EU engagements.

Photo: press material from the event