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Macedonians Have Grim View of Status Quo
Real estate news By Angus Reid Global Monitor
September 27, 2007
Few people in Macedonia think their country’s economic conditions have improved over the past year, according to a poll by the Institute for Democracy. Only 26 per cent of respondents in the former Yugoslav republic believe things are getting better. Conversely, 38 per cent of respondents claim economic conditions have stayed the same, while 36 per cent say they have worsened.
On the topic of corruption, 48 per cent of respondents believe the situation has stayed the same, 34 per cent report an increase in illegal activity, and only 18 per cent cite a reduction. Macedonia has been split along ethnic lines since it was a part of Yugoslavia. In 2001, the country came close to a civil war as representatives of the ethnic Albanian minority became engaged in a series of violent battles that forced many residents to flee. The conflict ended with a new constitution, which guarantees Albanian rights.
In July 2006, Macedonian voters renewed their Assembly. Final results gave the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization - Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity (VMRO-DPME) 45 seats, followed by Together for Macedonia (ZM) with 32 seats, and a coalition encompassing the Democratic Union for Integration (BDI) and the Democratic Prosperity Party (PPD) with 17 seats. In August, Nikola Gruevski of the VMRO-DPME was sworn in as prime minister.
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