The Macedonian parliament in the capital Skopje approved a government led by previous Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, the head of the nationalist-conservative VMRO-DPMNE. According to media reports in Skopje, 77 parliamentarians voted in favour of the coalition of the VMRO-DPMNE with the ethnic Albanian DUI party. Together the coalition government has 82 seats in the 120- seat parliament, DPA reported. Opposition parliamentarians boycotted the session and the new coalition. In a speech following the parliamentary vote, Gruevski promised economic growth, and membership in the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. He also promised to fight organized crime and corruption and to improve relations between the Slavic majority and the ethnic Albanian minority.
