VMRO-DPMNE to Filipche: Where were you during the name change?
The opposition says Filipche stayed silent while policies around the Prespa Agreement and Bulgarian demands were accepted, and accuses him of personal enrichment.
VMRO-DPMNE fired a string of accusations at SDSM leader Venko Filipche after his declaration that "Macedonia is not for sale." The opposition party questioned Filipche’s role while he served as a minister in the government led by then-prime minister Zoran Zaev, arguing he remained silent during the negotiations and decisions that changed the country’s name and accepted demands from Bulgaria.
Opposition: silence and personal gain
In a party statement, VMRO-DPMNE addressed Filipche directly: "Venko Filipche, the apprentice of Zoran Zaev, in an attempt to act as a patriot, tried to say that Macedonia is not for sale. But we ask, where was Venko Filipche when his mentor Zoran Zaev, with him in government, changed the name, accepted ultimatums from Bulgaria and sold off the state's interests. The answer is very simple, as minister Filipche used all the privileges that power afforded him and wisely kept silent about all the betrayals committed against the state."
The party accused Filipche and Zaev of profiting while the public was told the name change would open the path to EU membership. "What citizens received was only the fake news with the picture of the airplane, where, with thumbs raised, they lied that the state had opened the negotiations. Then Filipche looked after the kickbacks for vaccines to go through, tenders to flow, and for him and Zaev to get their percentage, so now they have luxury vacations and yachts in Greece, buildings, apartments and golden visas in Dubai," the statement reads.
VMRO-DPMNE also alleged that Filipche failed to oppose Zaev’s policies regarding the name change and relations with Bulgaria. "But probably they thought the wealth was for them, because the only ones who benefited are precisely Filipche and Zaev, while they impoverished the people and plundered the state," the party added.
Filipche, for his part, urged that "citizens decide in a referendum whether they want mines near their homes." At a press conference he also criticized the announced construction of data centers and the proposed antimony mine, accusing the government led by Hristijan Mickoski of selling off national resources and arranging projects for private business interests. He said SDSM is not against technological progress but opposes private business interests of the ruling power and the prime minister.
VMRO-DPMNE concluded by asserting that the ruling party is interested only in enriching itself and that citizens have recognized this, so they will remain in deep opposition and "on the threshold of biological minimum," the statement said.
Photo: press material from the event
