Macedonia: The Game of the Name

Let's get it straight right at the beginning: Macedonia's name issue (excuse me, FYROM - Former Yugoslav Republic Of Macedonia, before I would be taken wrong) dates from that very time when the country got independent from Yugoslavia in 1991. It was Greece that heavily disagreed with using the name 'Macedonia', as their northern region is also called Macedonia, and they charged the ex-Yugoslav country with expropriating Greek history and culture, especially that part which is connected to Alexander the Great. (Additionally there have been worries from the Greek side that the former member of Yugoslavia might have territorial issues with them.) After long debates the two countries agreed that the ex-YU member should use the name Former Yugoslav Republic Of Macedonia (FYROM) so that they could join the international communities like UN and other countries will recognize them as a sovereign state.

Greek and Macedonian flags on the Foreign Ministry of Greece in 1998, when the two countries' ministers of foreign affairs tried (not for the first time, nor the last) to normalize the heavily broken diplomatic relations between the two countries

(photo: Simela Pantzartzi, EPA/BIRN)

Yet the country's name has been an issue since then. Macedonia keep itself committed to using the name 'Macedonia', while Greece in exchange use veto every time when the ex-YU country want to join the international communities, e.g. NATO or EU. There had been countless talks between the two countries, sometimes with UN-mediation, compromises (with heavy protests on both sides) and after more than 25 years full of negotiations, misunderstandings, diplomatic relations reaching lower than the lowest point, rallies and threatenings, it seems that the two countries might still reach the historical agreement.

Of course it's not that easy. (Nothing is easy in this region, and everything is much more complex as it seems first.)

This year, on 30th September Macedonia FYROM held a referendum on changing the country's name to Republic of Northern Macedonia. (Upon the long and often painful negotiations finally the two countries picked this compromise.)

Protesters in Bitola, Macedonia against the government's policy and the name changing of the country

(photo: Nake Batev, EPA-EFE/BIRN)

Well.
Only 36,87% of voters took the time and energy to go to the polls and give their votes. As at least 50% is needed for any referendum to be valid, this one was legally far from that. Still both sides - the government that organized the referendum and the oppositional VMRO-DPMNE (please, don't ask me to write their full name, you can find it here if you wish) - declared victory. VMRO said the referendum was a failure, and with this low turnout and the general lack of interest people made it clear that they want Macedonia to remain this current Macedonia. Meanwhile the governing party used that strange rhetorical tool in their communication that the 91% of that 36% of voters who still went to the polls gave their votes to 'Yes, please change from FYROM to North Macedonia', therefore the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (Socijaldemokratski sojuz na Makedonija) won.

This kind of communication is not unfamiliar in Eastern Europe. Don't get shocked, amazed or surprised - this is how it goes.

The Macedonian government needs at least two-third of the MP's to start the procedure of changing/adjusting the constitution about the name changing, so that they can start the negotiations with Greece. In the 120-member Sobranje (the Macedonian parliament) there are 71 MP's who will surely support the constitution changing, they are all members of the governing party. But Prime Minister Zoran Zaev needs at least 9 more MP's to have the two-third, and for this he needs to persuade members from the opposition to give their supporting votes at the parliamentary discussion. Prime minister Zaev is optimistic, but in case they fail to win the support of at least 9 opposition MP's, then in November there will be elections in Macedonia, where SDSM will heavily campaign for the 'Yes'.

Prime Minister Zoran Zaev trying to persuade MP's in the Macedonian parliament

(photo: MIA)

The question immediately rises why it's so urgent that the government want elections within a bit more than a month. The answer is that early next year there will be elections in Greece and the current (left-winger) Greek government is willing to cooperate with Macedonia about the name change, but Zaev & Co. can't risk the possibility of a new and possibly right-winger Greek leadership that would surely halt the negotiations.

Zoran Zaev (left) with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras

(photo: Ludovic Marin, AFP/Getty Images)

A rally in Greece with 1,5 million protesters earlier this year against the name change of Macedonia

Meanwhile the EU put VMRO under pressure trying to convince them to support the name changing procedure. CDU, their German sister party urged them to join SDSM in voting for the constitutional change, because, as they said "they might risk the isolation of Macedonia from the European communities".

Update: the Macedonian interior minister has announced that they would start an investigation, as numerous opposition MP's got threatening SMS's from unknown phone numbers. These messages contain sometimes death threats against MP's as well as their family members. Those MP's who got threatenings are those who are thought to 'disobey the party's will' by possibly voting for the constitutional change. VMRO heavily denied the possibility that they might pressure or threaten their own MP's.

The story is far from the end, the next episode might come within 10-20 days. The blog follows the procedure and will inform you about every turn of the events.