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Wh y We Lo s t – Th e M a c e don i a n C a s e
The authority and charisma of Georgievski was never in question; he always kept every-
thing under his control, but under his leadership the party never experienced solid in-
ternal democracy and discussion without consequences for bearers of dissenting opin-
ions. Georgievski had intentions of controlling the party through Gruevski. But obviously
Gruevski did not want to play that role. After the tragic death of President Trajkovski and
the presidential elections in 2004, the dispute between them surfaced, as they blamed
each other for losing the elections to their biggest political rival, former SDSM Chairman
Crvenkovski.
After making this dispute public, Georgievski made an unsuccessful attempt to return
to the position of party leader, demanding a new party congress. This was very difficult
because of a party statute that centralized the management of the party by giving the
leadership full power to appoint local leaders. Facing this situation, Georgijevski and his
followers formed a new political party called the VMRO-People’s Party. Most of VMRO’s
members of parliament joined it thanks to the changes in the election law supported by
SDSM. Georgievski did not become the leader of the new party, instead leaving an acting
president in power. Two other small factions also separated from VMRO. Former associ-
ates of ex-leader Georgievski and his former vice president of the party, Dimovska, formed
a political party named the Democratic Republican Union of Macedonia. Also Marjan
Gjorcev, former VMRO minister of agriculture, is attempting to gather the votes of village
people and the farmers, mostly in eastern Macedonia. This split is one of the biggest chal-
lenges facing VMRO today.
Thus, disunity and fragmentation haunts the future of the center right in Macedonia,
seriously handicapping the chances for the right to win in the next parliamentary
elections.
VI. Perspectives
The recent local election showed a strong discontent among Macedonian voters, especially
those in urban areas where the population is not easily influenced or intimidated by threats
of losing their government job or their social benefits. It also showed that EU and NATO
integration are not crucial topics for winning elections, but rather that the improvement
of the economy and creating jobs are key. Since there have been no improvements in this
area, there is an open space for the center-right parties led by VMRO-DPMNE to win the
next parliamentary elections.
Recent developments suggest a wide coalition among the so-called center-right par-
ties which sprang from VMRO-DPMNE will be difficult to achieve. Personal disputes
and inability of the leaders to overcome the past threatens their prospects for success.
The pragmatic mind-set which is necessary for such reconciliation seems unrealistic
to expect.
VMRO-DPMNE had always been a movement geared towards an independent, stable
and European Macedonia. It still has to confront the challenge of turning itself into a
modern center-right political party. It is important to develop a new political platform
with a strong emphasis on the economic problems of Macedonia prior to the elections
in 2006. As the party is in a constant process of reform after the split, it is necessary to
