H.E. Kjetil Paulsen: IT IS A DEMOCRATIC RIGHT TO EXAGGERATE, BUT IT IS NOT A DEMOCRATIC DUTY

If we cry ‘wolf’ every day and, consequently, risk that if the wolf indeed prepares an attack, nobody will believe the warning.

All stakeholders in a democracy do need to assess the state of affairs, from time to time, would they go up through political culture and dialogue in their society. This is not specific for Macedonia, or Norway, it is generally applicable for all democracies. As a foreign observer, I shall, indeed, be cautious in publishing any advice concerning the current situation in Macedonia, but for whatever it is worth, I dare nevertheless to offer one or two observations maybe of a more general nature.

The general trend in Macedonia regarding democratic development is that the country is moving in the right direction as pointed out in the EC progress report from October last year. Progress may be faster in some areas compared to others, but as long as the overall direction is right it is good news. Some democracies are however recognized by a high level of political noise, creative characterizations of opponents and perhaps a tendency to declare and state opinions in capital letters rather then to discuss issues interactively. If there is controversy in the Macedonian public debate, I think it would be useful to ask whether the level of controversy is appropriate, too high or too low. Indeed some issues are controversial by their own merits, but is there a trend to overemphasize controversy?

It was interesting the other day when a Macedonian friend cautioned me saying: “You have to remember that we, Macedonians, are controversial each and every one of us.” That reminded me of a saying concerning Norway. It goes like this: the most important thing for a Norwegian is to become world famous – in Norway, of course. So we all have our burdens to carry. I only want to communicate that we do have our national, cultural and political peculiarities that we associate with, but also joke about them when we exaggerate. The only challenge is that we should not be tempted to exaggerate to the point that if we cry ‘wolf’ every day and, consequently, risk that if the wolf indeed prepares an attack, nobody will believe the warning.

This is in my view what Macedonians, Norwegians and other peoples enjoying democracy should keep in mind, without compromising in any way our distinct cultural features and our traditional ways of communicating with one another. It is a democratic right to exaggerate, but it is not a democratic duty.

(H.E. Kjetil Paulsen is the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway)