Cracks in the Zaev Government OR The PR spin machine chokes up
It has not been a good August for the Macedonian government and Zoran Zaev. Cracks are appearing in the government and the well-oiled public relations spin machine (rumored to be many, many people) seems to be choking up like an engine breaking down. SDSM is going down in the polls, VMRO-DPMNE is going up in the polls, and the government is trotting out many of its international friends in an attempt to bolster its credibility and plans, including its grand plan to change Macedonia’s name, Constitution, history, culture, identity, and much else which makes the country, and the Macedonian people, unique.
Let’s start with the issue of prosperity. The Legatum Institute, a London-based think-tank that focuses on lifting people out of poverty and into prosperity, released its 2017 Prosperity Index. And what did it find with respect to Macedonia? Let me quote: “In the overall Prosperity Index rankings, Macedonia has fallen by 2 positions from 54 to 56 when compared to last year. Since the Prosperity Index began in 2006, Macedonia has moved up the rankings table by 15 places.” In other words, prosperity rose by 15 positions from the time in 2006 when VMRO-DPMNE took over but has now fallen by 2 positions in the time since SDSM took power. Just pointing out the facts.
Let’s move on to Bulgaria. To celebrate Ilinden this year, Zaev ventured over to Bulgaria to jointly celebrate with his good friend, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borrisov. Readers will recall that last year the Government of Macedonia signed a treaty on “friendship, good neighborly relations, unicorns, rainbows, kittens, and puppy dogs” with Bulgaria in an effort to curry favor with, not only the Bulgarians, but the EU, US, and NATO as well. Zaev made the bet that if he could ram through this agreement in Macedonia, all would be well in relations between the two countries and peoples. Except Zaev went off on and did a silly thing — he (rightly as it turns out, which is unusual for him) said that Ilinden is a Macedonian holiday and celebration. Apparently this is verboten in Bulgaria and, after remaining silent for this great offense and being called out on it by other Bulgarian politicians, Bulgarian Prime Minister Borrisov said, in no uncertain terms, “when the time comes for Bulgaria to give its position on the integration of Macedonia into the EU, we will remember these words [from Zaev] and make up our mind,” according to Balkan Insight. That isn’t even a veiled threat. It’s a direct threat.
So, how did the Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia react to this? He promptly apologized for his “mistake” saying “Sometimes we, politicians, are not careful enough, sometimes we make mistakes. But I assure you that this is only an act of carelessness, because we sincerely want your cooperation and friendship.” This he did in a Facebook post. As my friend Cvetin Chilimanov points out, “Just a few months ago, Zaev proposed ‘Ilinden Macedonia’ as a more dignified solution to the name issue. This week he apologized to Bulgaria for saying Ilinden was a Macedonian uprising.” But wait, there’s more! After Zaev apologized, Bulgaria’s president, Rumen Radev said Zaev’s comments were not really an apology, but an expression of regret. “Is that apology enough? Did you hear an apology? I did not. Facebook is not an apology,” media quoted Radev as saying. Radev also said that Bulgaria should consider sanctions on Macedonia.
We have an English word uniquely American which I hope to introduce into the Macedonian language. It is “milquetoast” and means someone who is “timid or submissive.” In future Macedonian dictionaries, the entrance will read (in Macedonian) “Milquetoast. Noun. See, Zaev, Zoran.” What an appalling, er, um, man? Macedonia, stand up for yourself!
In all of this I would be remiss if I did not quote the greatest writer of the 20th century, Aleksandar Solzhenitsyn. In a speech given in America over 40 years ago (and part of his book “Warning to the West”), Solzhenitsyn told his audience this: “The very ideology of Communism, all of Lenin’s teachings, are that anyone who doesn’t take what’s lying in front of him is considered a fool. If you can take it, do so. If you can attack, strike. But if there’s a wall, retreat. The Communist leaders respect only firmness and have contempt for persons who continually give in to them.” This is a tactic of the Bulgarians and the Greeks. They are ready to take what is in front of them, namely, Macedonia. And they have contempt for those who continually give in to them, namely Zaev. Doubt his words? Then just look at the above scenario between Borrisov and Zaev.
Let’s move on to corruption. “What?” you might fairly shout. “I thought corruption was eliminated under the Zaev government,” you’ll aver. “That’s what Zaev and company ran on in the elections — a pledge to eliminate corruption,” you finish, confident in your assertion. But — and you’ll have to say this next in your best Jeremy Clarkson accent — “you’d be wrong.” Let me just quote from another Balkan Insight article here (they can be useful at times) to make my point: “The Group of States against Corruption, GRECO said in its second compliance report, published on Thursday, that Macedonia has made no substantial progress in implementing recommendations on preventing corruption among MPs, judges and prosecutors.” It’s worth remembering at this point: Macedonia was not given a date this past June to start negotiations with the EU, but was told that in June of 2019, the issue would be revisited and if Macedonia makes enough progress on such issues as corruption by then, then it might be given a date to start those negotiations.
And finally, media relations. The Government of Zoran Zaev has introduced state-funded advertising for political campaigns and new controls over online media, something they campaigned against.
Their hypocrisy, it seems, knows no bounds.
