North Macedonia is facing frustration over the slow progress of European integration, with much of the blame for this being attributed to poor administration by the Social Democratic government. Despite making significant compromises, including changing its name, North Macedonia has seen little progress in return. The national conservative VMRO-DPMNE won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections, falling just short of an absolute majority. Hristijan Mickoski, the party leader, will now replace Dimitar Kovacevski’s Social Democrats as head of government.
The frustrations over progress towards EU accession are exacerbated by obstacles such as the dispute with Bulgaria, which includes questions of identity and recognition of a Bulgarian minority in North Macedonia. Despite efforts towards integration, including joining NATO, issues such as lack of transparency in negotiations and trust remain. The recent election results reflect discontent with poor governance and a lack of progress in addressing corruption and other issues.
The Albanian coalition partner DUI played a role in the country’s political landscape but was not relied upon by election winner Mickoski to integrate the Albanian minority. Overall, the election results reflect both frustration with the slow progress towards EU integration and discontent with governance under the Social Democrats.
