Arben Taravari, leader of the Alliance of Albanians, clearly hinted toward creating federal units in Macedonia based on ethnicity. Taravari, who recently joined the SDSM – DUI coalition after presenting himself as a moderate politician for years, was discussing the proposal from VMRO-DPMNE that Macedonia amends its Constitution along the lines of the Croatian Constitution, which declares that it is a nation state of one nation, and then lists a long number of minorities – a proposal that Albanian parties are rejecting.

If we want to make comparisons, we should look at the examples of Switzerland and Belgium, who have similar demographics. I think that what VMRO-DPMNE is doing is trying to score points with ultranationalists, Taravari said.

Both countries have federal units based on ethnicity. Bulgarian nationalists and Vanco Mihajlov have called in the past for Macedonia to be arranged as “Switzerland in the Balkans” – with cantonal units for Bulgarians, Albanians, Turks and other ethnicities.

Taravari’s comment also seems to evoke the move to create an association of majority Serbian municipalities in Kosovo. The proposal prompted opposition Albanian parties in Macedonia to call for a similar Albanian association in Macedonia, that would serve as basis for a federal unit.