Dimitar Kova\u010devski stepped down from the leadership of the Government of North Macedonia exactly on the anniversary of taking office as prime minister from his predecessor, Zoran Zaev.<\/p>\n
He came to head the Government from the position of Deputy Minister of Finance in January 2022, with an ambitious plan presented to the deputies for the adoption of constitutional amendments \u2013 necessary for European integration \u2013 to fight corruption and organized crime and for the economic recovery of the country as a result of the global crisis.<\/p>\n
However, Kova\u010devski leaves at a time when the European Union has expressed major concerns about the judiciary and corruption, and when the United States, as the country\u2019s largest strategic partner, has expanded the blacklist with businessmen and current politicians suspected of numerous abuses.<\/p>\n
He leaves the Government without fulfilling the promise of constitutional changes and at a time when dissatisfaction with the severe economic situation is increasing, with almost daily protests for wage and pension increases.<\/p>\n
For citizens, there has been a wage and pension increase of less than 10 percent, while officials\u2019 salaries have increased by more than 80 percent.<\/p>\n
During his two-year tenure, numerous problems have been recorded in education, ethnic incitement, scandals in healthcare, chaos in communication, and significant air pollution.<\/p>\n
Regarding European integration issues, Kova\u010devski has consistently blamed the Macedonian opposition led by VMRO-DPMNE, which he claims is \u201canti-Western\u201d.<\/p>\n
The opposition has called such accusations Kova\u010devski\u2019s \u201calibi\u201d to hide, according to them, \u201ccrime, corruption, and inability to protect Macedonian national interests against Bulgaria\u201d.<\/p>\n
Kova\u010devski argued that he has done everything in his power to raise citizens\u2019 standards but attributed the severe situation to \u201cinternational turbulence\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have had the responsibility and honor to lead the Government in an extraordinary time, in a time of great international turbulence, but above all economic turbulence caused by the war in Ukraine. I think we have taken care of everyone. I believe we have done everything necessary to maintain jobs, preserve company liquidity, and ensure income for the most vulnerable categories of citizens,\u201d Kova\u010devski said after submitting his resignation to the Parliament last Thursday.<\/p>\n
However, economic expert Arben Halili believes that the citizens\u2019 standard of living is declining, especially due to the continuously high inflation rate.<\/p>\n
\u201cState representatives consistently promised wage increases, and of course, there were expectations, but compared to how much inflation takes away from workers, we see that we are in deep negatives, and parties should not expect to gain political points in the upcoming elections,\u201d says Halili.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, legal experts see the greatest failure of this Government in the judiciary, respectively, in the amendments to the Penal Code, which exempted many former corrupt officials, as well as current officials, from prosecution and criminal prosecution.<\/p>\n
According to criminal law professor Bashkim Selmani, evidence of the failure of Dimitar Kova\u010devski\u2019s Government is the countless criticisms from the EU and the USA.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe failure of this Government has been very high, and all international reports speak to the functioning of the state and the law. The malfunction of the judiciary led to the Government\u2019s failure to combat organized crime and corruption. It not only failed to fight these phenomena but also failed in all other areas. In a state where crime and corruption are at a high level, we have difficulties in the lives of citizens who are leaving the country,\u201d Selmani says.<\/p>\n
Changes to the Penal Code were approved with the rationale of harmonizing the Code with European laws, but the changes included, among other things, reducing sentences for acts of abuse of official position, leading to the suspension of criminal proceedings for high-level organized crime and corruption cases.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe changes impede the authorities\u2019 ability to investigate and prosecute such acts. This is a worrying and serious issue,\u201d said the European Commission\u2019s reaction.<\/p>\n
The US State Department, criticizing such changes, assessed that \u201ccorruption has the potential to undermine North Macedonia\u2019s strategic ambitions\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cLeaders of North Macedonia must demonstrate strong, tangible results against corruption by strengthening institutional independence and preventing political interference, especially in the judiciary, which is essential for achieving EU membership goals and building citizens\u2019 trust in the government,\u201d the statement from the US State Department said.<\/p>\n
The two-year work of Dimitar Kova\u010devski\u2019s Government has also been considered a failure by the Albanian opposition organized in the European Change League.<\/p>\n
\u201cCorruption, organized crime, smuggling, nepotism, and the blocking of the integration process were just some of the wrongdoings of this outgoing government,\u201d the Albanian opposition assessment for Radio Free Europe says.<\/p>\n
Kova\u010devski left the Government building on January 28, after the Parliament voted for the technical Government to be led by Talat Xhaferi, which will have a mandate of 100 days to organize and conduct elections on May 8.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dimitar Kova\u010devski stepped down from the leadership of the Government of North Macedonia exactly on the anniversary of taking office as prime minister from his predecessor, Zoran Zaev. He came to head the Government from the position of Deputy Minister of Finance in January 2022, with an ambitious plan presented to the deputies for the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":65239,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[164],"tags":[297,497,823,308,485,1418,243,151,298,5510,490,1466],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n