Skopje, 6 April 2024 (MIA) — ZNAM movement presidential candidate Maksim Dimitrievski believes the country is going through a bad time and for things to change, change needs to be encouraged – which is why he is running for President: for the state to get a father of the nation who will "unite the Macedonian people, unite all citizens of Macedonia," he told MIA in an interview, stressing that his goal was to shake up the system that has served, according to him, political elites for 30 years.

"It is very easy to sit on the sidelines and watch these bad processes Macedonia is going through. I simply decided to get out of my comfort zone and get involved in the fight. Any substantial changes in the country do not just happen. You have to encourage them. We did polls and surveys and entered the fight as a new political entity bringing together like-minded people, so we could reach a situation where Macedonia gets a father of the nation. Primarily a man who will unite the nation, unite the Macedonian people, unite all citizens of Macedonia, restoring their confidence and tell the citizens that they are not alone, that there is a man whose term in office rests on their votes, holding an important state position although all political elites marginalize it. Nonetheless, the President is the father of the nation and his work can restore the weight of the citizens. Because we live in a society that was created to specifically serve the political elites who have ruled it for 30 years," Dimitrievski said in response to the question what motivated him to enter the presidential race.

Regarding the constitutional powers of the President, Dimitrievski said if he were elected, he would cooperate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, pushing for career diplomats to better represent the country aboad. According to him, the politicization of diplomacy has torn down the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"Until recently, we did not have diplomats in key partner countries. So I think real and professional career diplomats need to be given the opportunity to professionally represent Macedonia abroad. In addition, the Minister of Foreign Affairs needs to closely cooperate with the President," Dimitrievski said.

He believes the judiciary needs to undergo a thorough audit, which he said did not imply vetting but rather "a filtration" toward achieving judicial independence and professionalism.

"The rule of law goes through the independent government, which is the judiciary and the prosecution. It has an important role in the selection and in proposing Constitutional Court justices as well as judges for the national Judicial Council, which is in fact the main body that should do a thorough audit in the judiciary and involve additional, advisory bodies made up of judicial experts. Because Macedonia does not need vetting but rather a judicial filtration to get a professional and independent judiciary. It is currently very politicized and, unfortunately, a large number of court decisions are politically motivated," Dimitrievski said.

According to him, there is a lot of talk about fighting against crime and corruption but no one is doing anything about it. 

"We continue to only talk about corruption, but there is de facto not a single person held seriously accountable — especially from the ranks of the Albanian political partner in the government — for corruption or similar crimes. So far, what keeps happening is we only see reruns: people come [into power], others leave, and after four or eight years, the first ones come back and rule exactly the same, if not much worse. We need to introduce new standards in governing and restore public trust. Only a President from a new political entity, formed a few months ago and not yet politicized to that level, can restore the independence of citizens in the area of their representation. So I consider myself the true people's candidate and I will make maximum efforts to convince citizens that electing me is the right decision that can unite the Macedonian people, instead of dividing them along any lines, especially political lines," Dimitrievski said.

He said he would commit to increasing the army's budget so that it was well prepared to face enemies both inside and out of the country. As Commander-in-Chief, he said, he would advocate for a mandatory military service for male citizens.

"The army needs to be always ready and well equipped. The army budget needs to be higher. We are a NATO member, which guarantees our security from the outside. But we also need to have security from internal threats and any other malicious influences from outside. So I will propose introducing a law that every citizen of Macedonia, especially the young male population, should undergo some kind of pre-military training so we have military-trained young people. The state is defended by its people and additional equipment, by a smart international policy outside state borders, by creating good partnership relations, primarily in the region with all our neighbors and NATO member states and the European Union," Dimitrievski said.

His strategic priorities regarding the country's EU membership, he said, was to preserve the nation's dignity and to build national unity and consensus around vital national interests.

"We, as Macedonians and as Macedonia, should enter the European Union with our heads held high and not with our backs bent. This means that we want to be members of the European Union because of the EU values that protect the interests of the small nations in relation to the bigger ones. It is impermissible for EU member states to be solving their bilateral self-imposed problems through our European integration process, because we have addressed these problems. Which is why we need to consolidate the Macedonian people, so we can be taken more seriously in the international community. Divided like we are along political lines, we leave room for them to think we are weak and cannot solve these problems. We should show national unity and consensus around all these issues: that Macedonians are Macedonians in continuity, and not as some have claimed since 1945; that the Macedonian language is a separate language; that we have our own history that was built by our ancestors, because this state is the result primarily of the Macedonian people who lived in these parts supported by all other ethnic communities who lived in these areas. If we had waited for others, now we would not have had an independent state. This is exactly what this national concept is about," Dimitrievski said.

Asked whether, in the current political circumstances, the head of state could be the cohesive element in society and if so, how he would achieve that cohesiveness, the ZNAM movement presidential candidate said he would use the presidential right to veto laws citizens do not agree with. 

If he had been President, he said, he would never have signed the amendments to the Criminal Code, which he said granted a general amnesty to this government and all previous ones. He pointed out that the Criminal Code amendments led to the expiration of the statute of limitations on many criminal cases.

"In addition to the government, SDSM and DUI, the opposition provided an additional quorum, which meant, 'We have an agreement.' In that situation, given that the citizens do not agree with this law, the President needed to send it back. I will never allow a law to pass without citizens agreeing with it. If Parliament should adopt such a law for the second time, I would honor that decision, but at the end of the day the citizens will judge if it was the right decision. This way, the citizens' self-confidence will be restored because they will see that someone from the position of President is protecting their interests directly, through concrete solutions," Dimitrievski said.

Regarding his commitment to building true coexistence and not, as he said, a biethnic society, he said Kumanovo, where he is Mayor, was the best example of building a multietnhic society. Still, he added, there were obstructions from political parties.

"In my office, I have the flags of all the ethnic communities in Kumanovo and even the Bulgarian community, although unrecognized because it is in the column 'others' in the Constitution. All who live in Kumanovo are citizens of the first class and have equal rights and opportunities. The municipality works and builds for everyone equally in all parts of the city, regardless of where each ethnic community lives. Our biggest problem is that our children are divided from the first grade and cannot understand each other when they meet on the street. The young generations, Macedonians and Albanians, sometimes speak English to each other, which is disastrous. At the same time, we keep talking about a multiethnic society," he said.

According to him, the ethnic Albanian political parties talk about having a multiethnic state but in fact are promoting a biethnic society.

"Macedonia is not a society of Macedonians and Albanians and the rest, but a society of all its citizens including the Macedonian people and all ethnic communities: Albanians, Serbs, Turks, Roma, Vlachs, Bosniaks, Montenegrins and all those in the column 'others' because they are equally citizens. I believe equal rights and equal opportunities should be given to all ethnic communities, and especially regarding the cultural independence of all ethnic communities. Because, for instance, the Kumanovo Municipality Council members, through a council decision, besides the Macedonian and Albanian languages, speak other languages that ethnic communities use, in this case, the Romani and Serbian languages, which achieves a higher level of equality," Dimitrievski said.

Asked if the charges filed against him over alleged abuse of office could have any impact on his presidential campaign, Dimitrievski said he was tired of such allegations, which also happened during the previous local elections and during his first term as Kumanovo Mayor. He said these were politically staged processes and forms of pressure aimed at damaging his reputation and scaring him off.

"I most responsibly claim that such actions have no effect on me. They even encourage me to fight for my own positions, mine and my team's positions and those of the people who believe in me. Eventually, this case will have an epilogue like all the others that came before it and it will definitely end with an acquittal, if there is any justice and rule of law. We will see. But I will leave it to the institutions of the system to decide, because there are also some professionals there. But why at this time? Let the public be the judge. It is very similar to what happened during the local elections, when police authorities and bodies and individuals and prosecutors were involved. This is not the first time this has happened to me. It gives me additional motivation to continue," Dimitrievski said.

His name is seventh on the ballot. What should motivate voters to circle the number 7, he said, was his integrity, principles, and character.

"Macedonia deserves to have a person with attitude, principles, integrity and character. Macedonia also deserves to have a true father of the nation who will not always make compromises to the detriment of his own people and his own country and who will represent the country as it is. Fairly, wisely, with consideration and in consultation with a serious council, which we would call a 'Council of Elders.' In an absolute cohabitation with the other subjects who are in power at that moment and always respecting the opposition and always making decisions solely in the national and state interest of Macedonia, the Macedonian people and all the citizens who live in this country instead of in the interest of political agreements and machinations that, unfortunately, keep being used as methods for finding appropriate solutions," Dimitrievski said.

It was unacceptable, he added, for the head of state to be changing his answers to the same question and initially reject the French proposal but then say a week later that he had been the creator of the French proposal or that he directly participated in its creation.

"Your character as the country's President essentially reflects the character of the country and the people living in it. I believe that we Macedonians are primarily proud and independent people. We have never depended on anyone in history. That is why we have created our own country. We are simply like weeds, resurfacing even after 100 years. We are wise. We are hardworking. We have and we need to maintain this country that our ancestors created. This is exactly the profile of a President that Macedonia will have if I am chosen to be the next father of the nation," he said.

Regarding the French proposal and the constitutional amendments, Dimitrievski said they were possible on the basis of reciprocity and should be implemented from the moment of the country becomes a full EU member so the country was protected from new, additional demands from Sofia.

"Well, I gave a solution to this question, As a political entity, although at the time as a citizens' association, we offered three solutions. Let me now emphasize only the last solution which I think I gave sometime in June, one day before the famous leadership meeting where our solution was plagiarized by the opposition leader. Macedonia should accept all of them in its Constitution on the basis of reciprocity, but the same constitutional amendments should be fully implemented from the moment Macedonia becomes a full member of the European Union. Why? To protect ourselves from any additional demands that may come from Sofia during the negotiations. Because we still need to fulfill a large number of chapters that the European Union will require," Dimitrievski said.

He believes the prospect of entering the EU in 2030 is a public manipulation, due to the existing level of corruption and crime and the politicization of the institutions of the system. Without a rule of law and with all of the system's anomalies, he said, the country would not be joining the EU any time soon.

"We first need to roll up our sleeves, solve our problems from the inside, transform Macedonia into a self-sustaining country, and use all our national resources and capacities both in the area of agriculture and in natural resources that we have – instead of them being wasted and pillaged by various concessionaires. The people and the state need to have an additional benefit from this so we could fiscalize the state equally in all its parts. Because now only parts of it are fiscalized while other parts are not. You need to collect the money, make Macedonia financially stable, cancel all harmful financial agreements especially for strategic investments with all those concessionaires as in the case of Corridor 8 and many other such projects. Let's get to work and make it self-sustainable. Only then will the European Union seriously want us to become a member state as soon as possible," he said.

He expects to make it to the runoff in fair and democratic presidential elections. However, he said, the law gave precedence to financing larger parties' media presentations. 

"The law was made this way. All funds financed by the state end up with the big parties. We, the small ones, are handicapped. What kind of campaigns will we have? I will lead a positive campaign. We will see what the other candidates do. I would like us to have happy and democratic elections. I believe that I, as a candidate, will get the citizens' support to make the runoff and win the biggest presidential victory in the country's history," Dimitrievski said.

Asked whether he would tell his supporters and fellow party members to support another candidate should he not make the runoff, Dimitrievski said he was a democrat but he had no right to influence anyone's constitutional right to vote as they see fit. 

Violeta Gerov

Translated by Magdalena Reed

Photo: MIA

Video and editing: Andrej Brankovikj and Vladimir Rabasovikj