VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski describe 2018 as disastrous for the Macedonian economy, and the country dropped to the bottom of economic growth in Europe, after being among best growth performers for a long time. Mickoski said that 2019 is bound to be even worse, because that is when the new tariffs for steel and aluminium kick in.

If you analyze Zoran Zaev’s work, his diplomatic activities, you will see that all boils down to just one issue. There is no mention of anything else, no work on the economy, nothing. All is down to the name issue. And, as a result of neglecting other, real issues, we see the decision of the European Commission to limit our exports of steel and aluminium, said Mickoski.

According to the opposition leader, the Zaev Government lied when it promised that the citizens will get to keep more of their money.

This was the most disastrous lie in their economic policy. We see that the money don’t flow back to the citizens, but end spent on no-bid public contracts. They increased taxes and abandoned the flat tax principle. If they wanted progressive taxation so badly, why didn’t they reduce tax rates for the poorest to 5 percent?, said Mickoski in a TV interview.