North Macedonia Coalition Talks Remain Shrouded in Secrecy

Seven days before the deadline expires for President Stevo Pendarovski to give a mandate to a Prime Minister-designate, both main political blocs have intensified talks with potential partners on assembling a majority.

The main ruling Social Democrats, led by former PM Zoran Zaev, on Friday said they were still engaged in "serious talks on the formation of a new government that would secure equal care for everyone" but did not reveal any specific details.

This came after Zaev - whose alliance won 46 of the 120 seats in parliament at the July 15 elections - on Thursday met Ali Ahmeti, head of the biggest ethnic Albanian party, the Democratic Union for Integration, DUI, in an attempt to renew their old alliance. Together, these two parties would have 61 seats - the minimum needed for a parliamentary majority.

"The meeting was promising," DUI spokesperson Bujar Osmani, said on Thursday, adding: "But it is not correct to announce our positions yet. Today the discussion revolved around restoring the trust lost during the election campaign … We need patience. We will continue the meetings in the coming days."

During the bitterly fought election campaign, the two former partners in government exchanged harsh words. Zaev said it was time the DUI went into opposition after spending more than a decade in governments, while the DUI said it was very disappointed that the Social Democrats had chosen other opposition Albanian partners for the election campaign.

On Thursday, the main centre-right opposition VMRO DPMNE party, which won 44 seats, said that its leader, Hristijan Mickoski, had also met DUI chief Ahmeti to discuss a possible governing alliance. No details were offered about this meeting, either. Together, these parties would have only 59...