The U.S. Ambassador in Macedonia, Jess Baily, in an interview for “Sitel TV” said that USAID is not working against the Government, that it is necessary that SPO’s mandate is prolonged, and that new elections most probably wouldn’t provide any new results.
-The idea that USAID is working on bringing down the Government is simply not true. The grants aren’t meant for supporting a certain ideology or a political party, or anything similar. It’s about creating conditions for an active and healthy democracy – said Baily.
According to the U.S Ambassador, when the agreement for forming the Special Public Prosecution was signed, no one was aware of the wealth of material that this institution will be facing, and that the international community is striving to prolong the mandate.
-Let’s go back and see what was the point of forming the SPO, and that is to bring responsibility for the content of the findings that have come out from the wiretapped conversations. I’m not sure that anyone back then was aware of the scope of work that SPO will face with.This institution also faced with delays and obstacles. It is very important that the work should be finished and the fact to be determined and all the doubts of who has done a misuse to be cleared out – said Baily.
When asked to announce his opinion about the platform of the Albanian parties, Baily said that he has no opinion, because as a foreign factor they aren’t interested in any platform but they are focused on the reforms in Macedonia and the returning of the state towards its Euro-Atlantic path.
According to Baily, if new elections are carried out quickly, as VMRO-DPMNE wants, it won’t guarantee a solution for the political crisis, since no one can guarantee different results from the elections on the 11th of December.
-It is not up to me to decide which option is the real one. The political parties have to do that. Any kind of decision, whether they would opt for a wider coalition or new elections will demand a support from 61 MP. As a friend, I can stress that any new elections don’t necessarily mean that they would bring any different results. A few days ago, Telma TV broadcasted the results from the polls that showed that the citizens aren’t interested in new elections. I think that the challenge lies in how to govern with the results we already have and to see where that will lead us. I don’t know how it would turn out, but the decision depends on the Parliament – said the U.S. Ambassador.
