SDSM accuses Mickoski, VMRO-DPMNE allies of escalating hateful language

The ruling SDSM accused opposition leader Hristijan Mickoski and his allies of escalating hateful rhetoric, saying insults and division are becoming the central tactic of the opposition. SDSM officials singled out recent remarks and a campaign they say is directed from within Mickoski’s circle.

SDSM highlights language they call dehumanizing

At a press briefing, Natasha Popovic, a member of SDSM’s Executive Board, delivered a stark critique of the opposition’s tone. She said: "Mickoski's insults: 'scum of society, a swamp, mediocrities, soft-bodied creatures, rodents… and everything else he says about the Macedonian people' — now take an even worse form. A level of spreading hatred and rage. The criminal organization VMRO-DPMNE and Vucic's team, after we exposed their plan with the media and Stoilkovic, struck with their unclean language."

Popovic also listed several expressions used recently against political opponents, which she described as part of a pattern: "a clownish company; a communist riding force; a spiritual freak; a cheap charlatan; a ridiculous clown with two left feet," and others. She argued these formulations are symptomatic of a deliberate campaign of insults.

SDSM accused Dragan Pavlovic Latas of orchestrating the offensive messaging and said that the attack intensified after the party revealed what it called a plan involving certain media outlets and the figure Stoilkovic. The party framed the exchange as part of a broader effort to sow fear and social division.

The statement referenced an earlier episode in which Mickoski used the word "talog" (residue/scum) during an Ilinden speech — a choice of words SDSM said contradicted the day's national- unity sentiment. SDSM called on political leaders and media to refrain from language that deepens social cleavages and to return to a more measured public debate.

Photo: press material from the event