VMRO-DPMNE

The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization – Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity (Macedonian: Внатрешна македонска револуционерна организација – Демократска партија за македонско национално единство, simplified as VMRO-DPMNE; Macedonian: ВМРО–ДПМНЕ) is a political party in North Macedonia and one of the two major parties in the country, the other being the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia.

The party has presented itself as Christian-democratic, but it is considered nationalist. VMRO-DPMNE's support is based on ethnic Macedonians with some exceptions. The party claims that their goals and objectives are to express the tradition of the Macedonian people on whose political struggle and concepts it is based. Nevertheless, it has formed multiple coalition governments with ethnic minority parties. Under the leadership of Ljubčo Georgievski in its beginning, the party supported the Macedonian independence from Socialist Yugoslavia, and led a policy of closer relationships with Bulgaria. After accused of being a pro-Bulgarian politician, Georgievski broke off from VMRO-DPMNE in 2003. Under the leadership of Nikola Gruevski, the party promoted ultra-nationalist identity politics in the form of antiquization. Its nationalist stances are often perceived also as anti-Albanian. During Gruevski's leadership the party changed from a pro-European and а pro-NATO policy, to a pro-Russian, pro-Serbian and anti-Western one. His government also managed to build a strong anti-EU sentiments in the country. After the resignation of Gruevski in 2017, the new leader Hristijan Mickoski has opposed the Friendship treaty signed with Bulgaria in 2017, and has claimed if he came to power he would revise the Prespa Agreement signed with Greece in 2018, although, stating that he will abide to it. The party became the main oppositional force which participated in the 2022 North Macedonia protests, surrounding its accession into the EU.