Mickoski pressed over 'mentor' Vučić as heated parliament debate

Personal insults and sharp exchanges dominated the parliamentary question time after SDSM leader Venko Filipche directly asked Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski whether Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić is his “mentor”, when he will return the name and whether he has secured a better agreement with the EU on the country’s path to accession. Filipche also told MPs that, while he addressed Mickoski in his capacity as prime minister, he does not personally respect him, a comment that drew a retort from Mickoski about what he described as the opposition leader’s poor upbringing.

Heated debate on local vote and identity politics

The session also included questions about the upcoming local elections in Brvenica after MP Skender Redžepi warned the contest would be a battle between those who oppress and those who are oppressed, and accused the prime minister of previously urging voters to choose along ethnic lines.

Mickoski replied that he is aware of rhetoric that appeals to ethnic voting but said he expects citizens to back the VMRO-DPMNE candidate in Brvenica. Parliamentary Speaker Gashi, speaking to journalists after a briefing, described it as illusory to speak of ethnic voting in the 21st century and said citizens should decide based on personal convictions and the qualities of the candidates who qualified for the second round of the early local elections scheduled for Sunday.

Miners and mining projects were another topic tackled during question time. The prime minister reiterated his commitment to the anti-mon project in Luke and outlined the legal procedures related to the Kazandol and Ilovica sites. The opposition used the opportunity to highlight recent borrowings and loans — including a Hungarian loan and what they called suspicious transfers of money from Serbia.

Mickoski responded that some of the new loans are being used to repay old debts inherited from the previous government, and defended the legal steps taken on mining matters. The session closed with lingering tension between parties as MPs moved through a range of substantive and personal issues.

Photo: press material from the event