VMRO‑DPMNE: Venko Filipche is weakening SDSM, opposition fronts push for his exit

VMRO‑DPMNE accused Venko Filipche of weakening SDSM and said rival opposition groupings are forming to push him out of the party leadership.

“VMRO‑DPMNE finds it convenient that Venko Filipche be president of SDSM. It is not convenient for the citizens and the state. But if this continues, they are on a good path to destroy each other, Venko and the rest of the dregs of SDSM,” the party said in a written statement.

Criticism and examples

In its reaction VMRO‑DPMNE also blamed Filipche for what it described as SDSM’s internal collapse and listed, in sharp terms, tactical and political failures under his leadership. The party quoted criticism that has been voiced publicly inside and outside SDSM about his conduct as leader.

VMRO‑DPMNE included a longer passage accusing Filipche of spreading falsehoods and of failing to adapt to opposition politics: “For two years as SDSM leader he has only spread disinformation and nonsense in public that have no connection, which are constantly denied either by domestic or by European institutions; for two years he rages and cannot accept that he is in opposition and cannot even consolidate the party so they begin to act like an opposition. They avoid working groups, such as the one on the Electoral Code, even though it is part of the reform agenda; they avoid parliamentary questions or contradict each other in the Assembly, and they cannot accept that they are in opposition and still live in the golden era that for them was when they stole everything and anything.”

VMRO‑DPMNE also accused Filipche of keeping SDSM "usurped" and claimed the party lacks the capacity to act constructively for the country while he remains at the helm.

Former SDSM vice‑president Igor Ivanovski — who helped organise the platform "Conversations for the Future at 12:05" — told media that Filipche and his inner circle have effectively become a faction inside SDSM and that they will submit a consolidation plan and proposals for structural changes. He said, “Filipche and the group have become a faction within SDSM; the membership is on our side.”

The exchange illustrates mounting tensions inside the main opposition force and signals further contestation over party leadership and strategy ahead of coming political battles.

Photo: press material from the event