Gevgelija, 7 October 2025 (MIA) — At a campaign rally in Gevgelija, SDSM leader Venko Filipche said he had a message for Hristijan Mickoski: "Macedonia is not your experiment nor is it your own vilayet," he told VMRO-DPMNE's leader, adding that SDSM was fighting for "our homeland, our shared home" as the political party that "always built the state amid crises, amid uncertainty, in times when courage was needed, not populism."

At the rally held to present SDSM mayoral candidate Mile Atanasov's election platform, Filipche said his party had always been there for the people.

"And here we are again. And once again we will right what is wrong with the state. Macedonia is waking up. We will once again bring back the sentiment that the government exists for the people, and not for the party," Filipche said.

According to him, under VMRO-DPMNE, the standard of living has plummeted.

"We have fallen on hard times under VMRO-DPMNE, and the citizens feel this every day.

"Prices are rising daily. People are struggling to put food on the table, and salaries are not standing still but sinking. All of Macedonia lives under the weight of a great fraud.

"This government promised a better life, but delivered poverty," Filipche said, claiming that VMRO-DPMNE was misleading voters using "propaganda," "PR spin" and "false figures" in an attempt to convince citizens that the country's economy was on the right track. 

"But the people know what the truth is," he said. mr/