On Friday, the Macedonian government survived a vote of no-confidence. MINA reports that the government won 68 votes, whereas 42 deputies voted against in the 123-deputy parliament.

The government is a coalition of the VMRO–DPMNE party and the Albanian DUI party. Recently, the parties have been at odds over the so-called Army Law, which, according to a report in SE Times, “envisions compensation for disabled war veterans and the families of deceased soldiers, free primary health care for defenders and the families of deceased soldiers and free medical treatment for those who were wounded.” The problem is that the bill is seen by ethnic Albanians as only rewarding those who fought against them in the short conflict in 2001.

The no-confidence vote was called on Thursday by the opposition socialists. They wanted to heighten the tensions between the ruling parties and underline the poor economic situation.

However, it seems as if the government was solid. They have, as I understand it, 71 seats in the legislature. So, there was very little slippage.

The previous no-confidence motion was in June 2007. The government also survived that one.