Skopje, 14 June 2023 (MIA) – The door is open for VMRO-DPMNE to join the national consensus on the EU and act responsibly. It has to be clear where we are headed, and what political goals we are fighting for, otherwise, we won’t achieve any results, said Deputy Prime Minister in charge of economic affairs and SDSM vice-president Fatmir Bytyqi in an interview for Lokalno.

“Our aspirations are towards the EU, and that means that the parties and politicians should also develop a political culture in which the decisions aren’t always made through the prism of election results, i.e., wins and losses. As a ruling party, we are underscoring the historic and strategic importance of the constitutional amendments, which the country can only benefit from. The issue of whether some of the parties might have more or less votes at the parliamentary elections is less important. We must overcome the anomaly which bases political decisions only on partisan interests. There are political circumstances, like the current ones, in which the decisions should be based on the interests and future of the citizens,” stressed Bytyqi.

According to Bytyqi, the political calculations are a symptom of irresponsible political behavior.

“The leader of the opposition has introduced a new ‘quality’ in the political space, and this is inconsistency and confusion in the public expression of political positions concerning the country’s strategic interests. He is occasionally trying to hide his consistency at times with statements about setting some conditions, i.e., creating the perception that he has the capacity to define or influence a certain political situation or processes in the country. He is trying to compensate for his political irresponsibility with a political narrative of sowing fear, distrust in society, which inflames nationalism. He talks about some kind of coming together, but sends messages of division. He says the goal is the ‘survival’ of the country. EU is not our existential enemy that we have to unite against. On the contrary, the Euro-integration can inject additional political vital energy in the country,” stressed Bytyqi.

Bytyqi said VMRO-DPMNE is a political stakeholder in the country and must act responsibly when it comes to one of the conditions of the negotiating framework, the MPs from its ranks, said Bytyqi, “must overcome themselves and the closed-mindedness of their political party, they have to change their political behavior when it comes to the broader and greater interests of society.”