Former SDSM leader Zoran Zaev made a rare intervention in the political scene, by posting a Facebook message denying that he has been receiving money from Bulgaria. Zaev was accused by Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, who cited all the major concessions Zaev made in favor of Bulgaria.
I strongly and categorically denounce the lies and slanders from Mickoski about alleged “suitcase with money from the former Prime Minister of Bulgaria” as untruths and a desperate attempt by the incompetent Prime Minister to divert the public attention away from his failures, Zaev said in the Facebook message. In 2020 Zaev caused a major rift and a collapse of his own party after he accepted practically all Bulgarian positions on issues of national identity and history. The interview came after he agreed to the creation of a joint commission of historians who are now reviewing the history of Macedonia and Bulgaria, with Bulgaria always holding the upper hand. Despite these promises of concessions, Bulgaria still blocked Macedonia from opening its EU accession talks, after the outrage that followed Zaev’s concessions made it difficult for him to deliver on his promises.
Mickoski was talking about the latest call from SDSM and its leader (and Zaev’s protege) Venko Filipce, that Macedonia must make additional concessions toward Bulgaria without asking for the firm guarantees that VMRO and Mickoski are calling for. Why is Macedonia holding “historical” get togethers with Bulgaria paints a picture of how incompetent is the current Government. Instead of simply nullifying everything Zaev has touched, the current administration simply continued on the suicidal path Zaev laid out for them.
