The Birth of Skopje 2014: Reconstruction of the Parliament Building
Skopje 2014 is a large-scale project led by the Government and the Municipality, which massively changed the city centre of the Macedonian capital. Although it was officially announced in February 2010, the birth of Skopje 2014 goes back to 2006 when the right-wing government of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski came to power. This article describes the decision-making process for reconstruction of the first building comprised in Skopje 2014 – the parliament building (Assembly Palace in Skopje). The construction works at the house of democracy introduced the authoritarian trends of the ruling political party VMRO-DPMNE in the transformation of Skopje’s city centre.
Tear Gas in Parliament: The Political Elite Crisis in Kosovo
Kosovo’s Parliament is blocked with tear gas for now four months. This blog entry discusses how the current events manifest a larger political elite crisis in the country by describing important events, past or upcoming, governance performance and positions and strategies of the major parties.