Rejoining The Party

On May 24, Branko Crvenkovski was elected to the leadership of Macedonia's left-leaning opposition Social Democratic Union (SDSM) party. This followed his official replacement as President on May 12 by Georgi Ivanov, the nominee of the centre-right VMRO-DPMNE bloc. Crvenkovski had had a fractious relationship with Prime Minister Nikola Gruevksi - VMRO's leader - during his term as president, and resolved to return to the SDSM in a bid to improve the party's fortunes after a dreadful showing in the 2008 parliamentary election. We believe that Crvenkovski's return to partisan politics may bode well for the SDSM, as he is a high-profile and respected national figure, but equally, that Ivanov's tenure will improve policymaking, by removing the friction of the Crvenkovski/Gruevski era.

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