Another Balkan country plunged into an internal crisis with the potential to destabilise an already troubled region. After a rolling two-day marathon debate, the parliament of the Republic of Macedonia voted to disband itself and scheduled early elections for June 1 in what is the most recent chapter of the country’s political tension tale.

On April 12, a total of 70 deputies in a 120-seat parliament voted in favour. The motion was filed by opposition ethnic-Albanian Democratic Union for Integration (DUI), but also got the backing of the ruling Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation (VMRO-DPMNE) and coalition partner, the Democratic Party of the Albanians (PDSh).
Fifty MPs from ethnic-Macedonian opposition parties, Social Democrats, Liberal Democrats and other smaller parties boycotted the motion.

Parliament also mandated the government of Macedonian prime minister Nikola Gruevski to act as the caretaker government until the new elections.

The decision was the last straw in an enduring political argument. The government of Nikola Gruevski had been hanging by a thread for months to eventually collapse in March because the prime minister resisted the call of ethnic-Democratic Party of the Albanians (PDSh) to grant more rights to ethnic Albanians in the country. The community accounts for a quarter of the Macedonian population.

In addition, Gruevski earned the wrath of political representatives of ethnic Albanians for his failure to immediately recognise Kosovo, with which it shares a border. Gruevski is believed to be maintaining close political and economic links with the ethnic Albanian community.

In early April, the situation in the country spiralled out of control, with Macedonia failing to get an invitation for Nato membership alongside Croatia and Albania, despite high hopes. The alliance refrained from welcoming Macedonia over a Greek veto to the move.

For 17 years now, Greece and Macedonia had been embroiled in a dispute over title to the name Macedonia. Despite copious rounds of negotiations, held under the auspices of UN envoy on the name issue Matthew Nimetz, the two countries are still to reconcile differences and reach a consensus.

The situation is not likely to change any time soon though, despite the ray of light that Greece cast immediately after the Nato summit. Then it said it would re-evaluate its strategy on the name issue and put up the New or Upper Macedonia name proposal with its neighbour. Shortly afterwards, however, the Macedonian ambassador to Athens stated that it was “insulting” to the Macedonian nation. Greece parried with a ban on lamb meat imports from Macedonia.

Therefore, on the eve of a new UN-sponsored round of name-issue negotiations, the countries seem to have returned to the pre-Nato summit deadlock.

The decision to hold snap elections came despite the European Unions’ (EU) call to refrain from doing so in fear that Macedonia would not meet the eight benchmarks necessary to earn an invitation to start EU accession talks.

Despite verbal concern and talk in local media that the snap elections would incur months-long delays for commitments with the EU and ongoing energy projects alike, the country opted for the move.

Shortly after the parliament’s vote, Gruevski said he hoped for re-election and a more convincing win for his nationalist party. Macedonian and international media saw that Gruevski’s timing for a new government and parliament was an attempt to capitalise on the growing anti-Greek sentiment that the name issue had inflamed within the ethnic-Macedonian population. Playing on the nationalist card might prove the right political strategy in the run-up to elections, local media commented. All the more, Macedonia celebrated its second interim victory on the name issue. Earlier this week, Macedonia and Ireland signed a bilateral double taxation agreement, where Macedonia featured under its constitutional name, the Republic of Macedonia. Ireland became the second country - after Great Britain - to formally back Macedonia’s name pretensions.

International analysts argue that Gruevski’s chances for a victory were all the more reinforced due to his commitment to the EU and Nato future for the country gaining sympathy from European and north Atlantic communities.

Whether it be Gruevski’s party or some other, Macedonia is on a steady course to integration, international media reported. International credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s also showed confidence in Macedonia’s pro-EU and Nato course saying it planned no immediate changes to the country’s sovereign rating because of the snap elections. Earlier, though, it warned it would do so on inter-ethnic tensions and resultant political repercussions. Presently, Macedonia’s foreign currency rating with S&P is at BB+ and the local currency rating at BBB-.

Gruevski’s plans, however, could potentially backlash over brewing public discontent with the progress on public reforms, economic stagnation and resultant high unemployment, as well as the failure to quickly integrate into international institutions.

Macedonian media expect the electoral race to be tight and replete with “dirty campaigning”.