Living rent free in your head.

Maybe you should check under your bed for “ultranationalistic” VMRO members

The funny thing is people pretend that Skopje statues have been there since the beginning and is rooted in Macedonian nationalism when in when fact the project was built as a middle finger to Greece for breaking the Interim Accord Agreement:

In a December 2011 judgment, the International Court of Justice (ICJ)—often referred to as the World Court or "The Hague court"—ruled that Greece had breached the Interim Accord of 13 September 1995.  The ICJ Ruling (2011) The case, Application of the Interim Accord of 13 September 1995 (the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia v. Greece), centered on Greece's decision to block Macedonia's invitation to join NATO at the 2008 Bucharest Summit.  Cour internationale de Justice  +1 The Verdict: By a 15-to-1 vote, the Court found that Greece violated Article 11, paragraph 1 of the Accord. Under this article, Greece had promised not to object to Macedonia's membership in international organisations as long as it was referred to by the provisional name "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" (FYROM). Greece's Defence: Greece argued its actions were a response to Macedonia's own alleged breaches of the Accord (such as using ancient symbols like the Vergina Sun). However, the ICJ rejected these as valid justifications for blocking the NATO bid, noting that Macedonia had largely ceased those specific violations years prior. Result: While a major diplomatic win for Macedonia, the ruling was largely symbolic. The ICJ did not order Greece to change its stance or impose penalties, and the blockade on NATO and EU accession continued until the Prespa Agreement was finally ratified in 2019.  Anyway it’s something that worked to our benefit since it drastically boosted tourism while the Greeks and Bulgars alike seethed behind their keyboards