Skopje, 2 April 2026 (MIA) - During the period of transition, a few people in the country got extremely rich and that led to big disappointment and emigration, says Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski and adds the time will come when young people who left Macedonia come back home.

"During the period of transition after the country's independence, when the state assets were brutally transformed into private capital, a few got extremely rich out of the many equals. This remained in our collective memory, many of our parents lost their jobs overnight, came home disappointed and uncertain about the future, probably most of them advised their children to seek happiness abroad," PM Mickoski told MRT.

He adds that a new generation came, faced with different challenges, but led by personal interests and further disappointing people.

"Regretfully, people decided to leave abroad, some staying there and others returning home. A portion of the youth today thinks that when going there, they will become successful in an instant, but when faced with the true reality, realize they are on the fringes of those societies," says the PM.

In this context, he sent a message that as hard as that collective memory might be, the Macedonian people are taught how to fight for themselves, for their family, and for their homeland.

"We must again create that sense of belonging to the homeland, to the identity. I am aware of the disappointments from the many who led this country, but we must overcome this because we are one of the smallest nations in Europe, and the only way to succeed is to respect these values. If we fail to do this, I am afraid that a future generation will face the challenge of mere existence," says Mickoski.

He notes that the Government has a strategy for the youth, including family formation and support for parents, birthrate incentives, keeping young people in the country.

"From 22,000 children born annually, we have dropped to 16,000 over the past decade. These are 6,000 fewer children, 300 empty classrooms or 15 schools. We are permanently losing people that can contribute to society," says Mickoski.

The PM adds the Government is working on improving the situation, adding that inherited problems cannot be solved at once.

"We are tackling one priority after the other. I would like to immediately solve all the problems but this is impossible because of limited resources. We are solving problems without creating new ones. We are getting close to a system that will be stable, without having loansharks and racketeering gangs on the streets, no high-level corruption, where everyone is equal before the law. I believe we will come to this over the course of 2026," says Mickoski.

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