Presidential Elections in Macedonia

It's that time of the year again...
The joy of campaigning, the miracle of promises, the festivity of the public accusations... HAPPY ELECTIONS FOLKS!
No, it's not the big ones (a.k.a. Parliament) - it's only for the minor functions - like the President's office.
No, honestly - it really is a minor function... or at least that's the impression once you look at the candidates.
There are three blocks of candidates in this elections (same as in any other elections in Macedonia):

1. The Right
2. The Left
3. The Albanians

Well... I have to use the first two, for the lack of better terms. Macedonia is probably the only country in the world without a clear Right, Left and Centre. There are no real conservatives, liberals, socialists. It's all mixed up. The party that has right national views, has leftist behaviour when it comes to budget spending and projects. The leftist parties - well... they have no particularly left views on any topic. The middle - after switching left and right few times over the past 15 years, neither side wants them, so against their will, they are stuck in the middle, believe me, it's not a matter of a choice.
But, Macedonian political system is a whole new story - let's go back to the presidential candidates.

1. The Right
Two guys here. Gorge Ivanov and Ljube Boshkovski.
Gorge Ivanov... Who?! Yeah, right, we all had the same reaction. Anyhow - it's an interesting political move by the party leader and premier, in a (very successful!) attempt to prove that the person is not as important as the party. This has very few good sides - like - good understanding with the government, no conflicting statements in public, no blaming each other during an international press conference abroad (ah, aren't we going to miss the last few years...).
On the other hand - it has many bad sides. The person is totally anonymous, unimportant both on local and international level. He has a remarkable teaching and scientific career, but that won't be of much help when the nation, and the rest of the world doesn't even know who he is. The only hope is that the party who stand behind him has worked out a grand master plan for his promotion and presentation abroad... which I doubt.
The other guy is Ljube Boshkovski. Brat Ljube. The hero of the war of 2001. The war criminal of the war of 2001 (hey, don't blame me - I'm just giving you options here - pure example of democracy). Former nationalist, refurbished as a patriot (4 years in a prison cell make wonders with people), with a uniting platform, but still - with a very heavy luggage from the old days.
Everyone is scared of his appearance. The right - because he is well known and very opinionated, therefore - hard to control. The left - because he is way too right for them. The international community - because, even though he was proclaimed innocent by their courts - he still is the symbol of the war (or, the conflict, as they prefer it). So... the conclusion is - he won't have a chance, but he'll help the right party, because he'll be marked as the "nationalist" one this year, not them.

2. The Left
Two names float here too. Or sink... Ljubomir Frchkovski and Nano Ruzhin.
Frchkovski. WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?! It's obvious, but anyway. No one in their right mind in the largest left party wanted to nominate himself for the presidential position, because with the through-the-roof ratings of the ruling (rightist) party, they won't have a chance, or it's going to be a hell of a battle. Also - they'll have to deal with a government with opposed views on everything (even if they do agree on something - they'll find a way to argue publicly about it). So - they nominated a person, who hasn't been present in the real political life for years, and there aren't' many good memories from the last time he was around. He is outspoken, way too intellectually pretentious (in some countries it may pass as a good thing, not in Macedonia), and he is a bit of a know-all guy. Not a single quality that goes well with the masses in that country. So... my conclusion - they know they'll loose the elections, but at least, they'll give a good show.
The other guy is Nano Ruzhin. He was one of the leading figures in the major leftist party, then was "bought out" by the rightist party and sent abroad as ambassador. Many years later, he shows up again, now nominated by a party that pretends to be centrist... but... come on - we all know you are not... seriously...
Nothing much to say about him. This nomination is more of a "one for the team", then anything else. Campaigns are a great way to spend lots of money and when that happens in Macedonia, many people end up with lot more money in their own pockets then they should have... which, on its own, is a great reason to run a campaign, isn't it?
General conclusion about the Left - I was hoping they would give a good show, but so far, nothing special. Come on guys, you won't win this one, at least make it fun!

3. The Albanians.
Aahhh... Way too many candidates. Albanian candidates never win presidential elections in Macedonia. So one would ask - why do they run? They claim it's a way to measure their ratings. Well - whatever floats their boat, right?
Three names here: Imer Selmani - former minister in the government... nothing special to say about him. Agron Budjaku - also - former minister. Few scandals, few results, nothing really worth mentioning. Murishe Hodja - a woman! How about that?! The only woman candidate on this elections comes from a party and a background where women's rights are not something they can be proud of. Usually they even tell their women how to vote when they come to the polls. Oh, come on - don't blame me for being a bigot - it's true, we all know it is.

So... Congratulations Mr. Gorge Ivanov... I hope you do know what you are getting into. Not for yours, but for ours sake.