kathimerini, 20 July 2008
Athanasios Ellis

The 38 year old arrogant nationalist prime minister of a tiny country in the heart of the Balkans threatens to disrupt the fragile Balkan puzzle and this should concern both the European Union and the United States who in the last decade have invested politically, economically and militarily to reinforce the stability of the region.

Nikola Gruevski is either trying to broaden the agenda concerning his country’s relationship with Greece, to justify his forthcoming retreat concerning the name issue, or he believes that Europe and the US are so sensitive on “minority issues” that they will support him in his campaign to allegedly uphold the rights of his kinsmen in neighboring countries, including Greece.

If the former is true, Gruevski is convinced that the unity and prosperity of his country is guaranteed only through membership of the Euro-Atlantic Alliances, but being fully aware that no Greek government will ever agree to the entry of FYROM to these alliances without the name issue being resolved, he is preparing the ground to compromise with a composite name. Hence, to sweeten the pill on the name compromise internally, he will try to sell the “guarantee” of a “Macedonian ethnicity” not only as a right of self-identification, but through international agreements. Greece, ofcourse, will not agree with this and neither does Mr. Nimitz desire to broaden the scope of his negotiation brief.

If the latter is true, Gruevski is sliding down a dangerous path, and is trying to create problems where they don’t exist and to open wounds which Europe has closed now for decades. These actions remind us of the ultra-nationalist objectives of the Kazinsky brothers last year (President and Prime Minister of Poland), who 60 years after the end of WWII, demanded that Europe compensate them for the actions of the Nazis. Not only did they fail in achieving their objectives, but they also exposed and humiliated their country in the eyes of Brussels and their European partners.

With the irredentist aspirations which Gruevski promotes, he is developing into the “trouble maker of the Balkans”, and this will have consequences for both himself and his country. The stigma of the dangerous nationalist does not disappear easily in the Balkans. This was a painful discovery for the Serbians who lived through the dismemberment of their country because Slobodan Milosevic started to play the nationalist card in 1989.

Gruevski is trying to become a “hero” internally in his country without being concerned about the fact that externally he is beginning to be viewed as a pariah. The violence that marked the recent elections in FYROM was the first disturbing indication. This was followed, last Thursday, by the arrest of the deputy leader and future leader of the opposition. His next objective is the complete control of the mechanisms of power in FYROM through the forthcoming local elections.

This problem does not only concern Greece, against which Gruevski now makes various unfounded but dangerous claims, but Bulgaria also and the entire region. Europe and the US should not only discourage him, but are obliged to stop him, now that it is still early.

http://modern-macedonian-history.blogspot.com/2008/07/fyrom-prime-minister-nikola-gruevski.html

The colorful Mr Gruevski

By Stavros Lygeros
Kathimerini, 24-7-2008

In Bucharest, Greece’s diplomacy trapped the Slav-Macedonians and brought them face to face with their true dilemma: On the one hand is their concept of “Macedonianism” and the fantasy of a “United Macedonia” that this represents, on the other are the tangible benefits of accession to NATO and the European Union.

Nikola Gruevski (the prime minister of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) won a great electoral victory by promising to join these Western institutions without compromising on the name and identity issues. But he cannot keep his promise. His letters and other actions are nothing other than a desperate attempt to break out of the diplomatic impasse.

The interesting thing about Gruevski’s political personality is that it combines raw nationalism with a mix of honesty, inflexibility and dogmatism. The clowning about with an Afghan tribal leader who was lauded as a descendant of Alexander the Great is just one example. The violence that accompanied the last elections and his persecution of rivals comes out of the same mold.

In time, the political deadlock will wear down Gruevski’s image and influence. Understanding this, he is trying to exploit the current situation to control the machinery of power and find a way to make his policy look substantial. In that sense, it was a mistake for Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis to reply to his letter.

As long as Gruevski plays at being a crusader for nationalist fantasies, he will sink in the political morass. And as he sinks, he will act spasmodically and rather ridiculously. If he keeps this up, no one will take him seriously internationally. The Greek side should show patience. Only if he gets serious can he negotiate a solution, one that will reflect the reality of the region and not harm the interests of either side. Until then, the price that the Slav-Macedonians will pay will be much greater than they think it is today.