VMRO-DPMNE formally endorsed that idea that the Preamble to the Constitution is amended in line with the Croatian Constitution, that is often cited by proponents of including a large number of ethnic minorities. Croatia includes the Macedonian nation as well as a dozen other minorities, but clearly states that Croatia is the nation state of the Croats.

The Government often points to the Croatian model when it calls for new amendments to the Macedonian Constitution. For us, this is seriously acceptable and we publicly invite the Government to fully implement the Croatian model in the Preamble, said VMRO spokeswoman Marija Miteva. “Wit this, Macedonia will the state of the Macedonian nation and the national minorities who live here”, she added.

The Government insists that VMRO votes in favor of adding the Bulgarian nation to the Preamble, even as Bulgaria does not recognize its own Macedonian minority. It’s unlikely that fully implementing the Croatian model would be acceptable to the Albanian parties, who dominate the Government and who insists that the Macedonian nation is not elevated above other ethnic communities. The constitutional amendments introduced after the Albanian insurgency in 2001 amended the Preamble, which was similar to that of Croatia, and Zoran Zaev’s amendments in 2019 further eroded the position of the Macedonian nation in the Preamble.