North Macedonia: Row with Greece over country’s name flares up

In fact, the road to EU membership already seemed strewn with obstacles long before VMRO-DPMNE won the elections.

No sooner had Greece dropped its veto than Bulgaria decided to raise objections of its own – insisting that North Macedonia should acknowledge the Bulgarian heritage of its country and people.

The only way out was through constitutional changes – acknowledging the Bulgarian language and minority.

That required a two-thirds majority in North Macedonia’s National Assembly. But VMRO-DPMNE refused to cooperate, partly on principle, but mostly as a way to make life difficult for the previous Social Democrat government.

That set the scene for last week’s elections, when a frustrated electorate punished the Social Democrats for failing to deliver on the promises it made when it said the name change would bring prosperity, security and EU membership.

VMRO-DPMNE’s victory was never in serious doubt. The only question was how its leaders would act when they took power.

With the Social Democrats humbled, would the new ruling party switch to a more conciliatory approach towards North Macedonia’s neighbours? Or would they double down on the nationalist rhetoric that Greece had tricked Macedonians into changing their country’s name, without receiving anything of value in return?

It has not taken long for the answer to emerge.