Editing VMRO-DPMNE (section)

=== Antiquisation and Skopje 2014 ===
{{See also|Antiquisation|Skopje 2014}}
The party pursued the "[[Antiquization|antiquisation]]" policy between 2006 and 2017, in which it sought to claim [[Ancient Macedonians|ancient Macedonian]] figures like [[Alexander the Great]] and [[Philip II of Macedon]] for the country. The policy was pursued since its coming to power in 2006,<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Naoum Kaytchev |title=Being Macedonian: Different types of ethnic identifications in the contemporary Republic of Macedonia |journal=Politeja |date=2014 |volume=11 |issue=4 (30) |pages=123–131 |doi=10.12797/Politeja.11.2014.30.13 |publisher=ismo Wydziału Studiów Międzynarodowych i Politycznych Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego|doi-access=free}}</ref> and especially since Macedonia's non-invitation to NATO in 2008, as a way of putting pressure on Greece as well as in an attempt to construct a new identity on the basis of a presumed link to the world of antiquity.<ref name="Georgievski">{{cite web |title=Ghosts of the past endanger Macedonia's future |author=Boris Georgievski |website=Balkan Insight |date=27 October 2009 |url=http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/ghosts-of-the-past-endanger-macedonia-s-future}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Benjamin Langer|author2=Julia Lechler|title=Reading the City: Urban Space and Memory in Skopje|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sgfc1TosZGYC&pg=PA43| year = 2010| publisher = Univerlagtuberlin| isbn = 978-3-7983-2129-8| page = 43 }}</ref> The policy received academic criticism as it demonstrated feebleness of archaeology and other historical disciplines in public discourse, as well as a danger of [[Social exclusion|marginalization]].<ref>{{cite book| author = Ludomir R. Lozny| title = Comparative Archaeologies: A Sociological View of the Science of the Past| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=HFkueBuO-ucC&pg=PA427| date = 1 January 2011| publisher = Springer| isbn = 978-1-4419-8225-4| page = 427 }}</ref> The policy also attracted criticism domestically, by ethnic Macedonians within the country, who saw as dangerously dividing the country between those who identify with [[classical antiquity]] and those who identify with the country's Slavic culture.<ref name="Georgievski"/> Ethnic [[Albanians in North Macedonia|Albanians]] saw it as an attempt to marginalize them and exclude them from the national narrative.<ref name="Georgievski"/> [[Bulgaria]] also accused the country of falsification of history.<ref name="Georgievski"/> According to researcher Anastas Vangeli, it harmed interethnic relations and the country's international position.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1080/00905992.2010.532775 | volume=39 | title=Nation-building ancient Macedonian style: the origins and the effects of the so-called antiquization in Macedonia | year=2011 | journal=Nationalities Papers | pages=13–32 | author=Vangeli Anastas| s2cid=154923343}}</ref> Foreign diplomats warned that the policy reduced international sympathy for Macedonia's position in the naming dispute with Greece.<ref name="Georgievski"/> [[Social Democratic Union of Macedonia|SDSM]] was opposed to the [[Skopje 2014]] project and alleged that the monuments could have cost six to ten times less than what the government paid, which may already have exceeded 600 million euros.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.skopjediem.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9407:sdsm-allegations-at-government-on-skopje-2014-project-&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=81|title=SDSM Allegations at Government on Skopje 2014 Project|date=30 March 2011|publisher=SkopjeDiem|access-date=30 July 2012|location=Skopje|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130104174531/http://www.skopjediem.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9407:sdsm-allegations-at-government-on-skopje-2014-project-&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=81|archive-date=4 January 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/macedonian-culture-strategy-milestone-or-wish-list |title=Macedonian Culture Strategy: Milestone or Wish List? |website=Balkan Insight |date=15 November 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Joanne McEvoy |title=Power-Sharing Executives: Governing in Bosnia, Macedonia, and Northern Ireland |date=2015 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=9780812246513 |page=194}}</ref> In 2012, a statue of the member of the IMRO [[Simeon Radev]], who was also a Bulgarian diplomat, was installed on the building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs but it was later taken down, and according to [[Makfax]], with the explanation that it had been a mistake.<ref>{{cite web |title=В Скопие: Скулптурата на Симеон Радев била грешка |url=https://www.vesti.bg/bulgaria/medii/v-skopie-skulpturata-na-s.-radev-bila-greshka-4719871 |website=Vesti.bg |language=bg |date=11 April 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Macedonia Press Review – April 12, 2012 |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2012/04/12/macedonia-press-review-april-aa2-2%C3%A5aa2/ |website=Balkan Insight |date=12 April 2012}}</ref> The party built new headquarters for itself in Skopje in 2015.<ref>{{cite web |title=Photo: Macedonia's Ruling Party Builds Itself White Palace |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2015/03/23/photo-macedonia-s-ruling-party-builds-lavish-hq/ |website=Balkan Insight |date=23 March 2015}}</ref>