Macedonia Albanians Dismiss Call For Snap Poll

The ethnic Albanian partners of Macedonia's ruling VMRO-DPMNE party say they will not quit the centre-right government, undermining opposition hopes of an early general election.

“We will consider the motion [from the Social Democrats] if it comes, but we don't think the time is right for snap polls,” Talat Xhaferi, a deputy in parliament for the Democratic Union of Integration, DUI, and member of the party’s executive board, said.

“The party does not plan to reconsider its position in the government at the moment," he added, as that might jeopardize the chances of a deal being struck with Greece over the "name" dispute that has been holding back Macedonia's NATO entry and progress towards the EU.

"Our latest information is that a solution to the 'name' issue might be close," Xhaferi added.

Greece objects to the use of the name "Macedonia", saying it implies territorial pretensions to the Greek province of the same name.

The opposition Social Democrats have said they plan to file a motion calling for early elections right after the NATO summit in Lisbon from 19-21 November.

The Social Democrats' Vice-President, Gordan Georgiev, told Balkan Insight on Monday that they were counting on the support of all parliamentary parties, especially the DUI. "After the summit, it will have no more excuses to stay in the government", he said.

The summit is likely to see another setback for Macedonia, which has long sought to join the North Atlantic alliance only for Greece to block its application. Athens vetoed the issue of a NATO invitation to Macedonia at the 2008 summit in Bucharest.

The opposition sees the continuing stalemate as proof that the centre-right party of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski has no intention of solving the dispute with Greece and is thus driving the country into economic stagnation and political isolation.

The DUI won the 2008 snap general election within the Macedonian Albanian bloc on promises of swift NATO entry and progress towards EU membership. The party has since then regularly hinted that it is not satisfied with its bigger coalition partner's handling of the issue.

NATO has said that Macedonia can join the alliance as soon as it solves the dispute with Greece and that no special occasion, such as another summit, will be needed for that to happen.