Albanian language Klan TV reports that the Alliance of Albanians party has reached agreement with the other coalition partners to join the Government.

According to this report, AA leader Arben Taravari negotiated to take over two key departments – healthcare and education, and also, possibly, the agriculture ministry. AA will also get three dozen top seats in state institutions.

The party has eight seats in Parliament, which it won in coalition with the Alternative party – as both were opposed to the dominant Albanian DUI party in the 2020 elections. With their addition, the coalition will be boosted to over 70 seats, but remains short of the needed 81 seats for amending the Constitution – which is a key issue as Bulgaria blocks Macedonia’s EU accession talks until the Bulgarians are added to the Constitution.

This deal will leave all Albanian parties in the Government, with the exception of BESA, which was allied with SDSM in the 2020 elections, but since left his coalition and is now rising in the polls as the only credible opposition to DUI and SDSM. The loss will be chalked up to Alternative, which would lose its most important seat in Government – the healthcare department, DUI would give away education and SDSM may lose the agriculture ministry. SDSM was concerned that bringing in another Albanian party to the coalition would make the Government line-up majority ethnic Albanian – Albanians already dominate the Government if we count the deputy minister seats. This is why it is possible that the two Albanian coalition partners of SDSM, DUI and Alternative, will be asked to give their seats to Taravari’s party, while SDSM preserves its already badly diminished position.