Venko Filipche: Fragmenting the opposition threatens the country’s future
SDSM chief says refusals to enter party dialogue and alleged business links aim to weaken the opposition.
Venko Filipche, president of SDSM, accused members and former officials behind a newly announced "democratic platform" of acting with hidden, self-interested motives and alleged cooperation with the ruling authorities to weaken the opposition.
Filipche said party doors remain open for internal debate and unity, but added that those who refuse to enter that dialogue demonstrate the movement's true aim: fragmenting SDSM. He claimed some of the platform's initiators receive direct financial backing from governing structures.
"How else can it be interpreted than that they are paid by the authorities, when one of those persons – the party's former general secretary, Nikola Kurkchiev – or rather the company he represents, received a tender of 1.6 million euros from a state-owned firm? In this era when everything is centralized, it is known who decides on state tenders," Filipche said.
Filipche warns of a deliberate strategy
He warned that the breaking up of the opposition follows a pattern he compared to methods used by Serbia's ruling SNS party. Filipche said this model aims to leave the opposition scattered and unable to regroup.
Recalling the emergence of ZNAM, Filipche argued that the new formation split SDSM's votes and directly enabled a victory for Hristijan Mickoski and VMRO-DPMNE, before ZNAM later aligned with the government. He urged those involved to reconsider for the sake of the country.
"Let them come to their senses! It's not only SDSM at stake, but the future of the state. If the band of looters around Hristijan Mickoski is allowed to govern, things will turn out badly for everyone who lives here. I call on them to pool their strength and fight together," he added.
Photo: press material from the event
