site.btaSDSM Leader Slams VMRO-DPMNE Government for Placing North Macedonia in Diplomatic Isolation

The leader of the opposition SDSM party in the Republic of North Macedonia, Venko Filipce, stated from the podium of the party's 31st congress on Saturday that North Macedonia is in diplomatic isolation with its European path blocked, while the VMRO-DPMNE government has no plan to address this. Filipce called the country's Prime Minister and VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski "a tourist in Davos playing the role of a world leader" against the backdrop of the country never having been more isolated.

Filipce continued: "While the country is falling apart at the seams, Mickoski has been engaging in expensive tourism, paid for with public money. [North] Macedonia is in diplomatic isolation. The European path is blocked, and they have no plan. Europe has written us off, and America is not taking us in. Instead of being in the US perimeter, with Mickoski we found ourselves outside the circle called Europe. Such diplomatic madness and confusion are unjustified. This is a betrayal of national interests. Such betrayal will be remembered by many future generations."

The leader of the SDSM accused the ruling VMRO-DPMNE of trying to turn the country into a "quarantine zone, a buffer zone for foreign problems, just to get a pat on the back and a EUR 6 billion loan". He was adamant that his party would not allow such a development.

In his remarks, Filipce said: "Do you remember what Mickoski and VMRO-DPMNE said when SDSM was in power? We were subordinate to Europe. He would restore our pride. And what did we get? We got a government that was completely subordinate, blackmailed, and bought with money and projects from [Serbian President Aleksandar] Vucic and [Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor] Orban. They brought the country to the bottom of the Balkans with a Prime Minister who has no right to sign any decision without the approval of his bosses."

In the closed part of the SDSM congress, which is currently taking place, the Social Democrats are analyzing the results of the local elections held in October 2025. The delegates' agenda also includes the election of a deputy party chair, after the entire party leadership resigned at Filipce's request.

Filipce said he expects the congress to proceed smoothly, even though days before the forum, two prominent SDSM representatives accused him of causing the congress to fail due to a lack of quorum.

Following Filipce's speech on Saturday, the ruling party issued a statement that reads: "In his empty speech to the congress, Filipce did not explain why the party came fifth [in the local elections] in Skopje and third in [North] Macedonia. He did not distance himself from or say a bad word about his mentor [the former prime minister of the country from the SDSM] Zoran Zaev, [...] did not explain why the SDSM provided services to Bulgaria and Greece, imposed the French proposal [an agreement between Bulgaria and North Macedonia presented by the French EU Presidency in 2022 as a way to reconcile long-running disputes over language, history and minority rights in order to start North Macedonia's EU accession negotiations], concluded a harmful agreement with Bulgaria, did not explain why they are attacking the US, waging a political war with the UK."