Macedonian parties react to Serbia election shift

Political fallout from the recent election shift in Serbia reached across the border, prompting reactions from Macedonian parties about democratic accountability and the state of domestic politics.

Parties frame Belgrade's vote as a message

Opposition forces in North Macedonia said the developments in Serbia show that civic dissatisfaction and demands for change can alter political trajectories across the region. SDSM’s leader Venko Filipche tied the outcome in Belgrade to relationships he says mirror those of the domestic ruling camp.

Venko Filipche said: "Those business, political and media ties of Aleksandar Vučić and until recently of Viktor Orbán are the networks that feed, fed the regime of ours here under Hristijan Mickoski. Five tonnes of drugs that directly lead to these people in Serbia, and companies here with us have direct relations with firms close to Prime Minister Mickoski."

VMRO-DPMNE hit back with counter-accusations, invoking past personal contacts between Filipche and Serbian officials and alleging a long list of connections that, the party spokesman said, undermine Filipche’s credibility.

Valentin Manasievski, spokesman for VMRO-DPMNE, said: "When Filipche speaks against Vučić, people remember how they sat and drank until the early morning, how he was welcomed at the border, how the marijuana was going to Serbia, how for director of ESM they, with Zaev, appointed a man of Vučić, how for PR-chief in the party they appointed precisely his godfather Bashanović and many other connections that will only be revealed. Venko Filipche and Aleksandar Vučić are one and the same."

Smaller parties issued more programmatic reactions. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) welcomed Serbian voters’ push for change and called for independent institutions, equal justice and continuation of the European path.

The LDP statement read: "LDP expresses hope that with this democratic act, Serbia finally returns to the true European path. This victory is a clear signal and a warning to all regional politicians who think that with control, monopoly and spending public money they can forever keep their own people in captivity."

Vredi congratulated the success of the Albanian coalition and the Student List in Serbia and urged the incoming Serbian government to respect minority rights and to open a new chapter in relations with Kosovo: "We hope that the new Government of Serbia will find the strength and political will for dialogue and cooperation with the Republic of Kosovo. A dialogue between equal parties, which should culminate with mutual recognition between two independent states," the party said.

On the question of early parliamentary elections at home, SDSM repeated that it will not serve as a fig leaf for the authorities. Filipche pointedly told critics: "they have a two-thirds majority, let them decide themselves."

Photo: press material from the event