Readers of TOL regularly see here pieces from BBC Monitoring, which translates into English articles from media from around the world. The other day I came across a commentary by Ivor Mickovski, writing in Skopje’s Utrinski Vesnik newspaper that I thought was fascinating but that probably needed a little more context than could be elegantly provided in an editor’s introduction. So I’ve decided to use this post to reprint it and offer an explanatory comment. It compares the methods and mindsets of Viktor Orban, the Hungarian prime minister, and Nikola Gruevski, his Macedonian counterpart. Orban’s conservative-populist Fidesz party spent years in the wilderness before defeating a discredited left in elections last year. Since then it has moved to change the foundations of Hungary’s government, through constitutional rewrites and other maneuvers, in order to guarantee that its influence outlasts its term in office. It’s not only the opposition in Hungary that is concerned about creeping authoritarianism and overreach. In Macedonia, Gruevski has adopted a socially conservative platform, aligning himself closely with the Orthodox church and sometimes annoying the country’s Albanian Muslim population. He has also dealt with a dispute with Greece over the use of the name “Macedonia” by aggressively claiming historical figures, such as Alexander the Great, that its Hellenic neighbor sees as its own. Even some who side with Macedonia on this issue wonder if its people wouldn’t be better served by a more measured approach to the controversy. But it appeals to nationalists. Anyway, see what you think. I have to say, I don’t think either Gruevski or Orban deserves to be compared with Mugabe.
Text of report by Macedonian newspaper Utrinski Vesnik on 16 May
[Commentary by Ivor Mickovski: "Chavez visits Mugabe"]
The European Chavez has visited the European Mugabe. [Hungarian Prime Minister] Viktor Orban has come for a pre-electoral visit to visit his [Macedonian] counterpart Nikola Gruevski in the name of Christian Democratic solidarity, which is a euphemism for ultra-conservative and right-wing closeness.
In my view, the timing of his visit is irrelevant, although I am convinced that Gruevski expects to gain kudos from the visit of the prime minister of the state that is the currently holding the EU presidency. What is of crucial importance here, but what Gruevski does not heed at all, is the negative aspect of the identification of the nationalist and populist projects of these two politicians.
Viktor Orban and Nikola Gruevski do not only share a physical resemblance, but they also suffer from the same illness. They are determined to distance their states from the European continent both in ideological and moral terms. They both dream of and move toward “a brave new world” in the spirit of national-populism. They are equally brutal in revising the history, identity, and culture of their own states and nations. Moreover, they both dream of a sort of nationalist revival and they both regard moving forward as a return to the proud nationalist past.
When it comes to Gruevski’s Macedonia, this is happening through the search for ancient and biological roots. As for Orban’s Hungary, this process is taking place through the cult of St Stephen’s crown, a national symbol that was used many times in the past, especially in the regimes of Miklos Horthy and Ferenz Szalisi, [Hungary’s prewar leader and his successor] both Hitler’s allies until the last moment. Just as in our state they glorify the Macedonian nation’s foes, such as Vancho Mihailov [who in the early and mid 20th century led a guerrilla movement for an independent, Bulgarian Macedonia], in Orban’s Hungary no one mentions the criminal years that are being evoked in this way.
You see: Orban and Gruevski need each other! They are both the carriers of an unfortunate and sad totalitarian experiment. Orban needs someone around, a subordinate party that would serve as an example that he is not the only eccentric and that this is actually a new normality. Gruevski needs him for the same reasons, as well as due to the fact that Orban’s Hungary is an EU member, and he needs a European example that he may quote and emulate.
Daniel Cohn-Bendit [German European Parliament member] was so right to fiercely criticize Orban in the European Parliament for distancing himself from the EU values with the scandalous Hungarian media law. He was right to say then that Europe must primarily shine with credibility and to ask him how Europe can talk with [Belarusian President Alyaksandr] Lukashenka or China with credibility, given the example that he gave with Hungary and if his totalitarian policies were accepted. Now, this is the question that is reverberating in our heads: how can the European Union talk with Gruevski and discipline him, when someone like [Orban] exists within it?
Gruevski, for his part, intends to take full advantage of this similarity to legitimize his policies. How sad are these similarities! Still, there are some stylistic differences in institutionalizing dictatorship.
Orban’s project is more difficult because he has to enact Hungary’s nationalist revival within the EU’s framework, so he carries out all the changes in the state through the drastic modification of the Hungarian Constitution. Gruevski does not need to do this because he has a different strategy. He deliberately distances Macedonia from the EU and he amends the system through ordinary laws, vulgar corruption, and criminal ‘VMRO-ization’ [referring to Gruevski's party – Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity - VMRO-DPMNE]. We certainly cannot expect any sophistication from Gruevski, nor does he need any!
With the new ultra-conservative constitution, Orban is transforming Hungary into an authoritarian state. All of the power is being concentrated in the executive government’s hands, all the control bodies are being reshaped, while freedom of expression is being drastically reduced. The new text of the constitution suspends any social right, whereby he has achieved a sort of practical Thatcherism. In a nutshell, the state’s role in the social policies and relations will be annulled, but the state’s power in retaining order will grow endlessly. This is happening in our state as well, because people are being left to the mercy of poverty, as opposed to the progressing police state.
There is one fundamental or – may I say – philosophical conclusion here, too. Both in Hungary and Macedonia, the laws and their enactment or failure to do so contravene basic human rights. The rights are no longer treated as natural, which is normal for any democratic society, but as secondary and dependent on the people’s obligations. In Hungary this means that whoever receives state assistance, pension, or health insurance is entitled to have rights only if that person performs services useful to the community. In Macedonia, this matter has been reduced to an even more primitive level. It is through the VMRO’s lists that we understand that in Macedonia people have the right to get a job, receive a salary, or have in-vitro fertilization only if they meet their obligations toward the prime minister’s party. This means that the tragedy is even greater in Macedonia. If in Hungary, instead of “natural rights,” there are rights on which the state decides arbitrarily, in Macedonia there are rights on which the ruling party decides arbitrarily.
The comparisons do not end here. Orban has changed the media law in compliance with Orwell’s spirit, whereas Gruevski is closing, indirectly repressing, or controlling the media with managerial efficiency that resembles that of the Gestapo. Orban has promised millions of new jobs. Gruevski has pledged 8 billion euros of investments. Their popularity functions on similar grounds and they obviously have similar PR advisers as well. They are both the carriers of Christian democratic fundamentalism: the state and the church, or the party and church, to put it in Macedonian terms. They both equalize the political with the ethnic nation, the Christian roots, the family, and the church. They put importance on defending fetuses. The people of other religious confessions, the atheists, laymen, Roma, and homosexuals are not their priority. Both Orban and Gruevski want to rename things. While Orban renamed the Budapest airport after the famous composer Franz Liszt, Gruevski renamed our airport Alexander the Great. And he did not stop there! The two of them want to provoke their neighbors to a large extent. Orban provided the people of Hungarian provenance living in the neighboring states with the right to vote, which irritated Slovakia in particular, but Serbia, Romania, and Ukraine did not remain indifferent, either. Gruevski does not stop, either, especially when it comes to Greece, which is provoked by the names of a highway and the airport, as well as the megalomaniac sculptures. They both find the judiciary’s autonomy unnecessary, whereas they evaluate culture through constructions and facades. We could go on enumerating.
The essence is the same. Hungary and Macedonia are laboratories for the new ultra-national right. We are the ringleaders and the bastions of the totalitarianism on the Gdansk-Gevgelija line. Who could have thought 15 years ago that new totalitarianism, nationalism, racism, and xenophobia would be born precisely along this line, which was supposed to be the symbol of new freedom and democracy? Our reality is cruel and such a future is miserable. We are living in a progressive cultural gap between the right-wing politicians’ ideas and our people’s needs. They call themselves “people’s parties,” but they have devastated the people. Both our revivalists and their pseudo-intellectuals have betrayed us. What do they offer? Arbitrariness, abuse, excuses, fatigue, and identity crisis. We have no new practical horizons, no sane collective mobilization, and no attainable or real ideals. They have replaced the only post-socialist culture left for the people, the culture of nation, with the (lack of) culture of nationalism, populism, and totalitarianism. [as published] They have taken our history away from us and they have evicted us from the continent where democracy was born 2,500 years ago. They have deprived us of our freedom. As Cohn-Bendit put it, not a single democracy has died because of too much freedom. Democracies die once freedom is restricted.
November 22nd, 2012
17 Comments at "Eastern Europe’s Evil Twins"
I am sorry but your article is non informative, plays with words without any facts to back up your mean comparisons, packed with false ideas , congratulations. Just collect some more true information before writing the next article..
This is an over-exageration to say the least. Are you kidding me! Ultra-nationalist, I think you need to go do more research because your way off target. If its nationalist you seek in Europe, Macedonia is definatly not one of them! I would think Greece or Albania but Macedonia? This article is a JOKE! Just the headlines, “Eastern Europes Evil Twins” In 1991 Macedonia declared its independence from Yugoslavia, followed by an embargo by Greece. During Nato bombing of Serbia the Macedonians opened her boarders to Albanian refugies. 400,000 of them. Not soon after the Albanians staged an uprising demanding more minority rights! The Macedonians have no, I repeat no rights in neiboring Bulgaria, Greece, or Albania. Please be a fair journalist….
This article is meaningless! He refers to lack of basic human rights in Macedonia when Macedonia has bent over backwards to please Albanian extremists. Lack of basic human rights is what Macedonians have had to live with in occupied Macedonian land in Greece, Bulgaria and Albania for the last 100 years.
This writer has been paid well by either SDSM, greek nationalists or someone that cannot bear the sitre of VMRO in power!
You make it out as if EU membership benefits countries , look at Bulgaria it became more corrupt once it joined and dont get me started on Greece a country which borrows heavily in order to secure their occupation of their Macedonia region,Which was partioned in 1913 and is the main reason Greece does not regonise the name Macedonia out of fear they will lose their most richest region.I find it appauling that you would refer to Gruevski as a dictator , When he came to power Macedonia’s economy became stronger their was more jobs and more foreign invesments something that the previous corrupt government (SDSM) didnt do as they are ex-communists and are known for accepting bribes from Athenian officials , also they have links to Albanian crime. Nikola Gruevski is not a nationalist what he says and does is the truth ethnic Macedonians are the closest related group to the Ancient Macedonians , so before you decide to comment check your facts because you are corrupt blogger who does not write truth rather poltical propaganda for whoever it is you work for.
It seems to me that the author of this article, the fellow from “Utrinski”, forgot to wake up and smell the coffee. The poor chap sounds delusional and lost in a haze of past irreconcilable confusions. Like most of his adherents to the largely debunked, sclerotic and recalcitrant party’s ideology, he dreams of regaining the power by simply hurling insults and spewing stupidities at Macedonia’s ruling party. Little does he know that by doing so he reveals his own shortcomings and ineffectiveness.
Barbara, your portrayal of Mr. Gruevski and Macedonia is untrue and defamatory. I am not knowledgeable on Hungarian matters, but you come across as strident when describing Mr. Orban. Why the sleazy defamation, stridency and fear mongering? Your article smacks of a witch-hunt; especially where you characterize Mssrs. Orban and Greuvski as the European Chavez and Mugabe. In doing so, you prove to readers that you are the European McCarthy pursuing your slandering and witch-hunts under the guise of jounalism.
The citizens of Macedonia will give their opinion of Mr. Gruevski when they vote in the election on June 5, 2011. The OSCE will have election monitors on the ground to attest to its fairness. Be ready. The voters’ majority opinion may differ from your minority view.
I don’t know about Orban but Gruevski lies about Macedonian history and identity towards its people. He denies or hides ancient Macedonians’ doubtless Greekness, he claims Bulgarian heroes to be “Macedonian”. Along with Tito and other leaders of FYROM he offers to the people a shining but fake name.
He even passed a law which denies any private investigation about “Macedonian” identity.
Someone, from FYROM or not, MUST bring him to the Court of Human Rights.
People of FYROM need freedom!
Hi Peter.
Please check again. I didn’t write the article. And, as I said in my introduction, I would not liken either of them to Mugabe.
But thanks for reading.
Barbara, my sincere apologies. I withdraw my comments vis a vis yourself. However, the author’s calibre falls short of professionalism and is not worth disseminating.
Istor stop with your lies and propaganda. Your forum has no meaning and no one can reply to your posts.
This article is weak and is clearly one sided.
At least when Orban renames the airport to “Franz Liszt” he doesn’t
appropriate someone else’s history.
I think there is a place for political correctness but taken to ad nauseam levels its a detriment not a benefit. This is why I love you Barbara. You have a clever way of calling a spade a spade without stooping to shock jock.
In this case, twenty years post communism some of the eastern European nations, while technically republics, still don’t seem to have instituted the necessary legal reforms to distinguish a particular ruling party from being a synonym for the state.
A particular vivid example is Macedonia. Anyone that knows history, knows ancient Macedonians (whether Greek or not is a red herring) have essentially zilch to do with the (mostly) former ethnic Bulgarians that now call themselves “ethnic Macedonians”. Gruevski’s government aside from trying to build a non-existent link to ancient Macedonia, also (sadly) uses state institutions to bizarrely oppress evidence of Macedonia’s very own ethnic Bulgarian past. The fact he is so popular is a testimonial to the power of political propaganda.
What a joke! All that the Macedonians (though the Macedonian Government is not) are doing is defending their natural rights. Each individual has a natural right to determine his/her own identity and the Macedonian people have a natural right to determine the name of their own state.
The attempt by Greece to deny the Macedonian people their natural rights is a perversion and a racist attack.
@knows knows, You know nothing of my country and of my history. your a Greek or a Bulgar or just some looser who has an IQ of 5. Everyone wonts to take from Macedonia and claim it as their own because their own history isnt good enough.
There is a hysterical tone to the article, but it does raise a legitimate point about contemporary Macedonian politics and government. The Republic of Macedonia is a modern political entity – so many who comment on the Republic miss this very simple point. The place is a modern political entity, albeit a post-conflict one. This is, of course, very far from unique to the RoM, though I can not deny that VMRO is a particularly grisly example of political and transitional failure.
It is as if Gruevski regards politics and government as what he wants it to be, and normalisation – for want of a better term – desn’t matter. The post-conflict state has not been replaced by a solid civil society underpinned by civil institutions that seek something for the Republic first.
Let me be clear. It may well be that Gruevski believes that he is acting in the best interests of the RoM. But there is a world of difference between the crass populism and preferencing of VMRO and taking a principled stand in the best interests all things considered. And in any case there is no standard by which the RoM can be said to be advancing in glorious isolation into a genuinely post-conflict future.
I find it uncomfortable, but though we are not at Mugabe levels, ‘ultra-national,’ is a reasonable characterisation. Constitutional in no meaningful sense of the word. VMRO governs but in a near apolitical manner – it is defined by no more than the obsession with putting the wind up Greece, appealing to the diaspora, demanding rights in other countries (a good argument, to be fair). None of this sets out a vision or world-view as would be the case for a fully formed modern political entity. Ultra-nationalism has become a cheap substitute for politics.
The more worrying queston is where next? I used to think that the EU was the answer, but frankly I find myself increasingly doubtful. EU institutions are no substitute. The answer lies at home – in becoming a modern political entity rather than somewhere governed by whoever plays to the gallery best.
At last people are starting to realize what Gruevski and his co horts are all about at last Greece is getting people to understand Her plight because of these ultra nationalist goons of FYROM who by vlyoing & cheating are trying to claim ancient Greek history.This country should have been named the Central Balkan Republic because it truly does represent all the ethnicities of the Balkans from Serbs to Bulgarians,Turks,Vlachs,Greeks & Albanians with a small sprinkling of Jews & Roma.Gruevski & Milososki are being exposed as frauds because in reality you can fool most people but not all of all the time.FYROM will fail as a state because the Fyromians all they care about is the name and have forgone their basic principles for the survival of the state.The Albanian minority is getting restless and soon will breakaway from them & self declare at least 1/3 of the state as the new Illyrida Republic with Tetovo as it’s capital.The Bulgarian minority(which in reality is the majority)is growing at an alarming rate as many Fyromians are applying for Bulgarian citizenship(as many as 10,000 a year)thus opening themselves to the new Europe for their financial future like their former PM did Lubco Georgievski(mentor of Gruevski).The Serbian minority (at least 300,000)is also becoming restless as they are seeking to go back to Serbia as many of them have been sent there after the war.I plead with everyone to see what us Greeks have to put up with when the Fyromians falsely claim ancient Greek icons as their own.Shame on you Gruevski and Milososki his FM for lying and cheating the world over!!!
History has always had a way of unravelling both truths and otherwise… History is once again showing its hand creating its open and transparent pathways… these twins of evil as has been said.. will be judged in the same manner as have many others that have carried the same ideals and values, ultimately they fail and as the distortions and manipulations begin to be questioned, their collective clocks keeps ticking
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