Macedonia’s PM: “Not Preparing Snap Polls”

Macedonian Prime Minister and leader of the centre right VMRO DPMNE party said that a memo he recently sent to his supporters does not mean he is considering early elections.

“That’s a letter that I sent to the members of the party. I am usually doing this once a year. Many people in Macedonia see this as a preparation for early elections, which is not true,” Gruevski said in an interview for CNN.

Media started speculating that the largest Macedonian party is preparing its members for yet another snap poll in the spring.

In the letter Gruevski wrote that “Its time for a final battle against politicians who left behind waste, misery, apathy, crime, lies and twisted values. Its time to thwart their attempts to take Macedonian citizens and Macedonia hostage.’’

Although no names were mentioned in the memo, media recognised the party terms often used to describe the opposition leader Branko Crvenkovski from the Social Democrats, SDSM, who marked much of Macedonia’s transition years from a socialist to capitalist society during the 1990s.

“Actually, this is just some kind of mobilisation for the people to join the progressive forces in the county,” Gruevski told CNN.

SDSM accused Gruevski is spreading hatred and stamping on democracy.  Stop “making discord among Macedonians”, SDSM vice president Gordan Georgiev, said at a press conference.

“I am sorry that I have to compare my PM with Hitler,” Andrej Zernovski, a high ranking member from the smaller opposition party, the Liberal Democrats, LDP and a state legislator said.

Speculation over early elections began this week in tandem with expectation that Macedonia and Greece will not settle the on-going name row between the two countries. Gruevski’s party is under pressure from his coalition partner to strike a deal and so hasten the country’s NATO and EU accession.