VMRO-DPMNE

The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization – Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity (Macedonian: Внатрешна македонска револуционерна организација – Демократска партија за македонско национално единство, romanized: Vnatrešna makedonska revolucionerna organizacija – Demokratska partija za makedonsko nacionalno edinstvo), abbreviated as VMRO-DPMNE (Macedonian: ВМРО–ДПМНЕ), is a conservative and the main centre-right to right-wing political party in North Macedonia. It was established as a nationalist and anti-communist party. It has later rebranded itself as Christian-democratic. The party claims that their goals and objectives are to express the tradition of the Macedonian people on whose political struggle and concepts it is based. Nevertheless, it has formed multiple coalition governments with ethnic minority parties. Under the leadership of Ljubčo Georgievski in the 1990s, the party supported Macedonian independence from Socialist Yugoslavia, and led a policy of closer relationships with Bulgaria. Georgievski left VMRO-DPMNE and formed the VMRO – People's Party in 2004. Under the leadership of Nikola Gruevski, the party promoted ultranationalist identity politics in the form of antiquisation. Its nationalist stances were often also anti-Albanian. During Gruevski's leadership, the party contributed to the country's democratic backsliding and led an authoritarian regime. Under Gruevski's successor, Hristijan Mickoski, the party has rejected the foreign policy of the previous ruling coalition, led by SDSM, especially the handling of relations with Greece and Bulgaria. The party has promoted under Gruevski and Mickoski identity-based politics, combined with radical populism and soft Euroscepticism rooted in concerns over concessions to Macedonian national identity during the EU accession process.