Ognen Teofilovski / REUTERS
Skopje concluded a “historic” deal with Greece in 2018, agreeing to add the geographical term “North” to the country’s name, to end a long-standing feud with its neighbor.
Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, North Macedonia’s first female president, refused to pronounce the country’s new name used since a 2018 deal with Greece, during her swearing-in on Sunday. “I declare that I will exercise the office of President of Macedonia conscientiously and responsibly, that I will respect the Constitution and the laws and that I will protect the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Macedonia”declared Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova in front of the deputies of Parliament and guests at the ceremony.
In the official text, which she repeated, it is indeed the constitutional name of North Macedonia which is used, noted an AFP journalist. Candidate of the nationalist right, Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova was elected on May 8 for a five-year mandate in the second round of the presidential election, defeating the outgoing social-democrat head of state, Stevo, with 65% of the vote. Pendarovsky. She is the first woman to access this position since the proclamation of independence of this small Balkan country in 1991.
Long-standing feud
This retired university professor, who celebrated her 71st birthday on Saturday, assured that she would be the president of “all citizens” and called to the“unit” in the country. Skopje concluded an agreement in 2018 “historical” with Greece, agreeing to add the geographical mention “North” on behalf of the country, to put an end to a long-standing quarrel with its neighbor, which for this reason blocked its accession to NATO and its negotiations for accession to the European Union (EU). The country became a member of NATO in 2020.
The nationalist right-wing formation, VMRO-DMPNE, of which Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova was a candidate in this election, opposed this agreement with Greece. Furthermore, the VMRO-DMPNE came well ahead of the legislative elections, which also took place on May 8, securing 58 of the 120 seats in Parliament by defeating the Social Democratic Union (SDSM), in power since 2017. The return to power of the right-wing opposition in this poor Balkan country of 1.8 million inhabitants risks reviving tensions with Greece, but also with Bulgaria, which sets its own conditions to advance negotiations. for North Macedonia to join the EU.