In a rambling press conference, during which critical journalists were accosted and threatened, SDSM party leader Zoran Zaev claimed that he will win the April 12 elections. Zaev was asked by journalist Ljupco Zlatev if he will resign as party chief following a defeat in April, and he used the presence of his loud party supporters to mock the journalist.
Ljupce Zlatev says we will win. That means I have no intention of losing. We are focused on winning on values, not a single brain cell doesn’t think we will lose. Look, the economy is growing, the country is becoming a NATO member, we are joyous at the beauty and the democracy. I’m a religious man and I say that the people decide but with God’s providence, Zaev said during the bizarre press conference.
Zaev famously promised to resign as party leader if he wins one seat in Parliament less than VMRO-DPMNE in 2016, but reneged on the pledge even though he lost by two. He also promised to resign as Prime Minister if the September 2018 referendum on the name change fails, and then opted to remain in office even though the vote failed by a wide margin.
Given the often-times dangerous situation at the press conference, Zlatev responded over his social media account, predicting that Zaev will lose “by a lot” and that the SDSM leader is so untrustworthy, you have to double-check if he wishes you a “good day”.
Zaev also threatened to fire judges who he accusses of not acting fast enough on their cases – often cases that Zaev friendly prosecutors initiated against his political opponents. He warned judges that they will face detailed checks of their property and of how quickly they scheduled court hearings.
Before his supporters he made a populist promise that SDSM will abolish the bonuses members of Parliament receive for traveling back to their home districts. SDSM campaigned against the high bonuses in the past, but then did nothing to abolish them in its nearly three years in office, and some SDSM members of Parliament, like the infamous “Mira Diesel”, distinguished themselves in raking in tens of thousands of euros.
Zaev also refused to show up for a second televised debate with opposition leader Hristijan Mickoski, after one debate on the Zaev friendly Kanal 5 TV. Mickoski proposed a second debate on the more critical Alfa TV, but Zaev turned to his loud supporters gathered in the SDSM headquarters, asking them if they want him to go. After yet another loud BOO aimed at the journalists, Zaev replied “the people have spoken”.
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