Macedonian Content Farmers Podcast

With the new Macedonian Government in place for a month now, we look into its performance so far, how is Mickoski handling the Albanians, Greeks, Bulgarians, Americans, the half-finished infrastructure projects and what's left of the opposition. And we are moderately optimistic about what we've seen so far. Saudis come snooping around: https://www.leaders-mena.com/saudi-arabia-unfolds-new-cooperat...

While we would prefer to discuss the big political issues of the day - the UK and France elections, or the President of the US being a turnip, we stick to what we know and that is Macedonian politics and what the new Government is up to. Cvetin updates us on how the Mickoski Government caved on the name issue and began using the N word in formal capacities (and it's still not enough for Greece) wh...

Jason and Cvetin examine the first moves of the incoming VMRO Government, as it managed to get a two-thirds majority in Parliament from an unlikely source. This first vote clears the way for the Mickoski Government to be elected soon, and to get to work. Meanwhile, SDSM and Levica are attacking it as *gasp* too weak toward the Albanians. But the actual Albanians are falling over themselves trying...

VMRO is back and hit the ground running. President Gordana Siljanovska started her term by dropping the N word from the oath of office, which she took as President of Macedonia - to applause from the public and shock from the diplomatic corpse in Skopje. Greece is threatening an embargo, Bulgaria is joining in the pressure, but incoming Prime Minister Mickoski declared that this will be Macedonian...

Political spring is in the air. Macedonian went to the polls last Wednesday, and in a landslide voted to throw the bums out. Actually, it's one bum for starters, Stevo Pendarovski, who was yugely beaten in the first round of the presidential elections. But this outcome, with a 2:1 ratio of victory for VMRO candidate Gordana Siljanovska - Davkova, announces a similar outcome in the all-important ge...

With the first round of the presidential elections drawing near, Jason and Cvetin get together for a podcast covering the latest in the campaign. Which is getting dirty, and dangerous. We cover a politically linked shooting, SDSM getting a journalist to do their bidding (and get himself arrested) as well as a slight change of tack by the US embassy (and a fun gaffe by their boss Blinken). As the p...

The US blackisted an active (long shot) presidential candidate, and a familiar face who they created and now destroyed. Meanwhile, the parties are naming their candidates, and SDSM is feeling the reality of the pre-election polls, as their coalition partners run to the hills and their candidates demand an (increasingly rare) safe spot on the list. And DUI is going full Red Scare on the country, ho...

The race is on, the presidential candidates have been announced - all seven of them - and just like the US, we are set for a replay of the previous presidential elections. SDSM is nominating the incumbent Stevo Pendarovski, and VMRO-DPMNE are again running with Gordana Siljanovska. But this time the Albanian vote is divided and won't stand behind Pendarovski (if they vote at all - there is talk of...

You find yourself stuck in one of the smallest European countries with no possibility to leave? You might as well record a podcast. This is how you find us, with Jason roaming the great wide spaces of the American SouthWest, but Cvetin is stuck in tiny Macedonia, with an invalid passport, together with over half a million others. The disastrous mishandling of the process to replace passports and p...

The Albanian nationalist cause strikes another major victory in the Balkans, as former UCK commander Talat Xhaferi is named the first Albanian Prime Minister of Macedonia. If SDSM and DUI have their way, Xhaferi may remain in this position for a while, or may continue in this role for the next two years, as a politically elected Prime Minister - this is apparently the concession that SDSM is willi...

With Jason in Macedonia, we sit down for a rare in-person episode of the Macedonian Content Farmers. And he may be stuck here, as the Skopje airport is in the process of being taken over by DUI, with the predicable competence they bring to every public institution they run leading to protests, threats of closure of airspace and the beating of air traffic controllers in the control tower. But hey,...

The Macedonian Content Farmers podcast comes back to recap 2023, including a God awful development that came near its very end. We talk about the political background of the actors who carried out the murder of young Vanja, and how did we come to produce such people. We also talk about the coming elections, the expansion of the US black list and the very open support for DUI and SDS by the US Stat...

The Americans finally put their golden boy Zoran Zaev on their poop-list, and the ambassador openly calls for him to be prosecuted. Meanwhile, two of his confidants are on trial - one of them not exactly carrying himself manly, even as he was more than happy to threaten political prisoners from the opposite side. Is this all happening because Zaev did not pay his dues, got tried to do business wit...

While we are obviously keeping our eyes with horrified intensity on the highway pile-up that is the Israel/Gaza war, and the Ukraine war, we manage to gather enough strength to return somewhat to Macedonian news today including how it is seen through the lens of how Macedonians and especially Albanians view the coming broader war. Cvetin lays out his thinking that Macedonians are now firmly in the...

Surprisingly little Macedonian content in a show produced under this title, which is to be expected given the opening of another front in what is shaping up to be a new world war. Jason and Cvetin discuss Israel and Gaza, the massacre of civilians and children, and the coming Israeli response. Given that Macedonia is also on the geopolitical fault line, we cover how people here, Macedonians and Al...

It's a weird one. We have a major spat in VMRO, between Mickoski and Gruevski, and frankly we don't know where to begin. There are so many conspiracy theories from all sides about this drama - is the Embassy involved? Who is coordinating with whom? Gruevski with Kovacevski? Mickoski with Zaev? Ahmeti with all of the above? Mickoski with Gruevski? (even this is among the theories put forward by SDS...

Jason is in Macedonia! And weirdly optimistic about it (Cvetin does his best to bring him down to planet Earth). And the news help - the main news item is a morbid tale of thievery at the clinic where cancer patients are treated, with doctors and nurses apparently stealing chemo and selling it in Kosovo. We discuss this huge scandal, how it (likely) worked and the political ramifications. And also...

After our summer haitus, Cvetin and Jason come back - and not a moment too soon: the Albanians are becoming unruly and Parliament will begin discussing the constitutional amendments requested by Bulgaria this week. First things first: Even SDSM supporters were shocked by the aggressive displays of Albanian nationalism during the visit by Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti - all together with maps o...

Arrests are back on the menu in Macedonia, as the Govenrment is running out of time and needs to force opposition members of Parliament to vote for their little deal with Bulgaria. Jason and Cvetin discuss the details of the new charges against opposition officials, and how they undermine Macedonian national identity - even after we witnessed what the similar concessions made to Greece in 2019 did...

Jason and Cvetin are forced to do an emergency podcast, as suddenly all the political rules in Macedonia got thrown out the window, and the three key parties, VMRO, SDSM and DUI are putting out all sorts of crazy ideas - a grand coalition, a Macedonia first grand coalition without DUI, voting on the Bulgarian amendments but with a long time delay fuse... In short, VMRO is trying to get the all-pow...

Even experienced Balkan watchers are confused at the recent dramatic change in tone from the United States (and the EU, but who cares about them) toward Kosovo. After decades of taking the Albanian side even when they were obviously in the wrong (hint: attacking Macedonia), the US is now praising Serbia for its attitude toward the recent Ohrid agreement and is condeming Kosovo as the uncooperative...

It's on! The US Embassy is now openly endorsing the DUI - SDSM Government, and wants Macedonians to accept the Bulgarian demands for constitutional amendments, and to just shut the bleep up about the travesty of the Bechtel highway deal. Cvetin and Jason had to jump back in the podcasting saddle (after a long - too long break due to pressing matters of international importance) to shed light on th...

Who says that societal decline can't be a laughing matter? Jason and Cvetin find the humorous side in the on-going gang war in Skopje, DUI's newfound appetite for majority rule and the planned bulldozing of archeological sites. We discuss how VMRO found a way to turn the debate about the Constitution on its head and actually score some points against SDSM and the Albanians by - gasp - demanding th...

After investing millions in a Colored Revolution to bring its favored crew in power in Macedonia, the US Government now comes to collect. The Bechtel corporation, widely known as an arm of the State Department, signed a huge deal worth 1.3 billion with the Government to build us a couple of highways. Jason and Cvetin explain all the problems with the deal - including the fact that it was a no-bid...

We kinda knew that we are getting close to the point where Macedonians will have to make a US style land acknowledgement to Albanians - as our ancient predecessors to this land - but now it comes with a new twist - Albanians are renaming themselves into Dardanians. This new development comes after an ancient engraved piece of marble was found near Skopje with the words Dardanus - which the Albania...