Macedonian SDSM accuses government of orchestrated hate campaign

The Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) charged the government with running an orchestrated campaign of insults, hate and division. SDSM executive member Natasha Popović said Prime Minister Christian Micic and Deputy Prime Minister Ivan Stoilkovic promoted inflammatory language such as “talog”, “mediocriteti”, “grodari” and other pejoratives on social media, calling the rhetoric “fascist methods in the 21st‑century”.

Popović linked the campaign to attacks on youths who carried a transparency about polluted water in Novo Selo and compared the tactics to those used by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić against student protesters, noting similar banner displays and labeling of young people as “foreign agents” and “Ustasha”. She also accused the VMRO‑DPMNE party of being “pro‑Bulgarian” and said the government isolates the country and delivers no results.

The statements were made at a press conference and circulated through SDSM communications, highlighting concerns over political rhetoric and alleged manipulation of public sentiment.