Mickoski and Gashi say that the parliamentary majority is stable, after May 1 it will be known whether Taravari will leave the government

"The government and the parliamentary majority are stable," Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski and Parliament Speaker Afrim Gashi said yesterday.

The presence of Arben Taravari's Alliance for Albanians in the government has been called into question, following unrest in the VLEN coalition, one of the partners in the government coalition along with OBRM-PDUKM and ZNAM.

Government sources a few days ago reiterated the position that Prime Minister Mickoski will meet with Taravari after May 1, thus answering the question of whether he will continue to be a minister in the Government. Taravari and ASH are not part of VALEN after they decided to have separate lists in the local elections, after which it was announced that Taravari had contacts with the leader of DUI, Ali Ahmeti.

"The government is stable and strong, and meets the expectations of citizens, despite the numerous challenges and the general economic catastrophe that was inherited. The general stance is that all efforts are being made to put Macedonia on a fast path for economic growth and development," the ruling OBRM-PDUKM announced after the session of the party's Central Committee.

The Chairman of OBRM-PDUKM, Hristijan Mickoski, emphasized that Macedonia expects successes and good results as a result of the reforms undertaken in the past period, and that the goal is economic stability and prosperity for all citizens, the announcement said.

The Speaker of the Assembly, Afrim Gashi, who comes from the Alternativa party, which is part of the VLEN coalition, said in an interview with Radio Free Europe that the parliamentary majority is stable regardless of whether someone leaves or enters due to the unrest in VLEN.

"I think there is no need to panic, the majority is stable, I think we should continue the work regardless of whether someone enters or leaves. I mean, there will not be any big change in the number of deputies. The majority is very stable, we already have about two-thirds. On the other hand, local elections are approaching, but I don't think we should always be so caught up in the fever and adrenaline of elections that we have to make choices about everything. We should understand local elections by their nature, as they essentially are. We are talking about sewerage, water supply, cleaner roads, lighting and I don't think we should bring high politics to local elections, to the next elections, to these regular elections. In order not to put them in the same parallel, I think this parliamentary majority should continue until the end of the mandate, to give political stability to citizens, so that the Parliament, the Government can continue their work. Local elections are another topic," said Gashi.

When asked if he expects Taravari and ASH to remain in government, Gashi said that this is still an issue to be decided by political leaders from WLEN, for which there are reports of merging into a political party.

Izet Mexhiti, leader of the Democratic Movement and deputy prime minister after the ASH announced that it would run with independent lists for councilors, accused Taravar of meetings with the DUI, the purpose of which, according to him, was to split VLEN. In a television interview, Mexhiti said that the Democratic Union for Integration initially contacted him with the aim of breaking up the VLEN coalition.

He did not answer whether, in the meeting that he, Afrim Gashi and Bilal Kasami had with Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, they set a condition for him whether he wanted them or Arben Taravari to remain in the government. He emphasizes that he expects Taravari to leave the government himself.

The Minister of Health, who led the ASH wing that became part of the VALEN coalition more than a week ago, confirmed to the media that he had had communication with the leader of the DUI, Ali Ahmeti, but that these were telephone conversations.

Some media outlets reported in early April that this was during the period when a decision would be made in VLEN on how they would run in the local elections. Taravari was in Turkey this weekend, but notifications of his visit were sent by the Alliance for Albanians email, and not, as is usual, by the Ministry of Health. /Telegrafi/