INFORMATION / DISINFORMATION / BA COMMENT
Regnum.ru: Macedonian Opposition Advocates NATO Membership
On 21 November, the leader of the largest opposition party in Northern Macedonia, VMRO-DPMNE (Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization - Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity), met with Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov on the sidelines of the European People’s Party.
According to the Albanian news agency Telegrafi Maqedoni, the topic of discussion was the European integration of Northern Macedonia.
Mickoski said joining NATO and the EU has been his party’s strategic goal since 1991, but the country is currently facing challenges. Thus, due to the high level of crime and corruption, Macedonia faces serious problems in the rule of law - top-level corruption remains unpunished.
BA Comment
This statement by Mickoski should be evaluated in two prisms. The first is Russia and its hopes and VMRO-DMPNE to be opposition to Zaev on the topic of NATO membership, which obviously cannot be done.
The second line, of course, is the positioning ahead of the forthcoming elections, which forces opposition party leaders to take positions that do not oppose them to the majority.
The fact is, however, that among the pro-Serb communities in northern Macedonia, the percentage of Kremlin supporters and NATO opponents is significant.
Another angle of analysis is the strong pro-NATO sentiment among the Albanian minority. A confrontation along this line between Macedonians and Albanians would have grave consequences for unity. Which practically causes any major politician in Northern Macedonia to come to terms with these realities.