- “One day it will have to be officially recognized that what we call reality still exists greater illusion than the world of dreams,” Salvador Dali
BETWEEN PROMISES AND PALE TRUTHS
Macedonian citizens have long been tired. Not from work, not from everyday worries, but from the endless cycle of political promises, constructions and big words, which for years are sold as historical successes, and end up as historical disappointments. Each new government comes with its own story of salvation, each new political elite promises a turning point, and the result is almost always the same – more divisions, more humiliation and less and less hope. The people are no longer looking for miracles. He is only looking for something that has become a rarity in Macedonia – political responsibility and results.
Perhaps that is precisely why even today, almost six decades after its creation, “A Whiter Shade of Pale” continues to sound so contemporary. Written in 1967 by Keith Reed and composed by Gary Brooker for the legendary Procol Harum, the song remains one of the most mystical and interpreted musical works of the twentieth century. Her surreal paintings, inspired by literature, symbolism and an atmosphere that many compare to the painting world of Salvador Dali, create a feeling of being lost between reality and illusion. The characters in the poem wander through a fog of words and appearances, convinced that they know the truth, while the floor they stand on slowly disappears beneath them. In that sense, the song isn’t just music – it’s a warning about the danger when people start believing narratives more than facts.
That is why, listening to Nikola Dimitrov’s recent television appearance, one can hardly get rid of the feeling that he is once again attending another well-known Macedonian political symphony. A symphony composed of carefully chosen words, diplomatic formulations and attempts to present failure as a vision. But no matter how beautifully arranged the story is, one essential question remains: what did Macedonia really get from the policies that Dimitrov presented for years as the only way forward? And more importantly – isn’t the man who convinces us today that he knows how to save Europe’s future the same one who helped create the current impasse?
THE DEADLINE ARCHITECT AS EXIT ADVISOR
There is something unusual when you listen to Nikola Dimitrov today. Not because he speaks badly. On the contrary. He has always been a good speaker. He knows how to choose the right phrase, wrap the message in diplomatic cellophane and create an impression of reasonableness. But this is exactly where the problem begins. Because sometimes the most dangerous illusions come not from people who shout, but from those who quietly and convincingly assure you that everything is under control.
In his recent television appearance. Dimitrov spoke about the need for Macedonia to have a strategy, to look for protective mechanisms and not to enter “adventure” again. He spoke about the risks of new blockades, the need not to hit the wall again and the necessity for the state to carefully secure its own positions. Those are reasonable views. The only problem is that they come from a man who was one of the main architects of the policy that led us to this very wall.
Today Dimitrov warns that Macedonia must avoid new traps. But where were those warnings when the public was convinced that the Prespa Agreement would open all doors? Where were they when it was explained to us that with one big national concession we would finally close all the open issues and step towards the European future? Instead of an end to conditioning, we got new conditioning. Instead of a closed chapter, we got new chapters with even more difficult requirements.
At times, while listening to his interview, I couldn’t shake the impression that I was watching an architect lecturing on the dangers of bad construction in front of a building he himself designed. With a serious expression, he explains where the cracks are, where the roof leaks and why the foundations were not strong enough. And the audience listens kindly, even though they know very well who drew the plans.
Particularly striking was his concern that Macedonia would not be blocked again after the next step. It’s hard to disagree with that. But it’s even harder not to wonder why this wisdom is only coming now, when the damage has already been done. Political history is full of people who become visionaries only after their term ends. Then all mistakes become obvious, all risks predictable, and all warnings timely – at least in retrospect.
And here again we return to the song from the beginning. In the world of A Whiter Shade of Pale, characters navigate a fog of words and symbols, convinced they understand reality until it begins to crumble before their eyes. Macedonians, unfortunately, did not listen to that song in a concert hall. They lived it for years.
WHEN THE RESULTS DENY THE STORY
In his guest appearance, Dimitrov repeatedly spoke about the need for national unity, about the need for Macedonia to have a clear position and about the damage caused by daily politics. That all sounds reasonable. But before we talk about unity, we have to talk about results. Because politics, at the end of the day, is not measured by good intentions, but by consequences.
And the consequences are cruelly simple. Macedonia changed its constitutional name. Macedonia made concessions that for decades were presented as impossible. Macedonia accepted compromises that few European nations would accept without serious internal upheavals. All this was justified by the promise that the disputed issues would finally be closed and the European road would be opened.
What did we get in return?
Not membership in the European Union. Not the start of substantive negotiations. No end to the blockades. On the contrary. We got new conditions, new demands, new ultimatums and new arguments about history, identity, language and constitutional changes. Instead of reducing the number of obstacles, it continued to grow.
That’s why today it sounds unusual when Nikola Dimitrov talks about the need for Macedonia not to enter into a new “adventure” and hit a wall again. For many will ask: if this was not an adventure, then what was? If this was not a blow to the wall, then what do you call the situation in which the state makes historical concessions and still remains in the same place?
It is particularly impressive that in the interview Dimitrov admits that Macedonia must not open the way only to “the next veto and the next blockade”, but to true membership. It is hard to disagree with this statement. But that very sentence represents the strongest judgment for the policies that he himself advocated for years. Because that’s where we are today – talking again about the next veto, the next block, and the next condition. And it is here, between big promises and modest results, that the face of a political story begins to take on a shade paler than pale.
FADED ILLUSIONS AND UNPAID BILLS
In the end, this is not just a story about Nikola Dimitrov. Not just for one government, one party or one agreement. This is the story of a political culture that lives too long on promises and too little on results. A culture in which every failure is presented as a step forward, every concession as a diplomatic victory, and every disappointment as a necessary sacrifice for a better future, which will never arrive.
Today, Macedonia does not suffer from a lack of strategies. Nor does it suffer from a lack of experts, analysts, negotiators and visionaries. Macedonia suffers from a lack of responsibility. From the lack of people who will stand up in front of the public and say: “We were wrong.” Instead, for years, we have seen how the same actors who convinced us yesterday that there is no other way, today explain to us why the path was more difficult than they expected.
But the people do not live on explanations. The people live by results. The nation is not looking for perfect politicians. She never asked for them. It demands honesty to the facts. It requires the ability for one to recognize the difference between promise and outcome. Because the biggest insult to a people is not when they are lied to once, but when, after all the disappointments, they are sold the same story again in a new package.
Therefore, perhaps the biggest lesson we should learn from the past decade is that no international support, no agreement, no European capital can replace national self-confidence and a clear state strategy. Respect is not earned by constant concessions. It is built with principles, with dignity and with the ability to defend one’s own interest without being an enemy to anyone.
Macedonia has the right to be a European country. But he also has the right to ask questions. To seek answers. To measure politicians not by their speeches, but by the consequences of their decisions. Because history does not remember who was the most eloquent in a television studio. History remembers who left what behind.
And when today we look at the balance of the years filled with big words, historical compromises and European promises, the feeling remains that somewhere along the way, reality began to resemble a surreal painting by Salvador Dali. Everything was carefully painted, everything seemed logical, everything had its own explanation. The clocks just melted, the perspectives were distorted, and the promised future remained somewhere behind the horizon.
And so, while the new “millers” continue to tell their stories, Macedonia again faces the choice of whether to believe in words or in facts.
Because sometimes, when the fog of political illusions clears, when the speeches fall silent and only the results remain, the whole truth appears before us – paler than pale.
They convinced us a lot. We were negotiated a lot. They saved us a lot. Macedonia no longer has time to listen to fairy tales. It is time for dignity, for responsibility and for results. That’s enough!
