The political system, society, and the church, have managed once again, with our usual injudicious manner, to create a divisive climate on all levels, due to the ‘’Macedonian’’ issue.
Despite the fact that we have grappled with the issue for the last 25 years, we cannot reach an understanding even on the self-evident.
With the responsibility and upon the initiative of the government, the matter developed mainly into a domestic political issue.
Instead of seeking to take steps that would facilitate an agreement on a nation line, it was decided to penetrate the opposition, which in turn hastened to respond to the challenge in order to mask its internal turbulence and weaknesses.
Suddenly, all the country’s other problems receded, and the only issue dominating public discourse is the limits of the negotiations with the government in Skopje. It is a serious issue, indeed, but certainly not the only one that should preoccupy the country and society.
We are confronted with the crucial issue of negotiations on the terms of fiscal supervision after the end of the current fiscal adjustment programme, not to mention the terms on which debt relief will be offered, which will determine the course of the country in the coming years.
It seems, however, that emotional, patriotic outbursts and nationalistic crescendos are, for many people, more important than agreements that will impact on all our lives, for many years to come.
Nevertheless, we have managed as always to conduct political confrontation with sensationalism and opportunistic motives, ignoring the substance of the issue.
We invest in divisions, instead of pursuing understanding and consensus.
With such tactics and rationales, however, it is exceptionally doubtful that we will solve the ‘’Macedonian issue’’ in the end.
More importantly, it is doubtful that we will manage at long last to stand on our feet, and to hope for better days.
