Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski and President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova issued official greetings to mark May 23, the national day of the Vlachs. One of those ritual, always-the-same state greetings that repeat every year. With one small difference - this year the political context underneath them is more legible.

Mickoski pointed to the „historical role and cultural contribution" of the Vlach community. Siljanovska emphasized that Macedonia is „the only state in which the Vlachs are a constitutional ethnic entity". An important statement - Vlachs in neighboring countries (Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, Romania) are recognized as small ethnic minorities, but in none of them do they enjoy the constitutional standing they have in Macedonia.

According to the 2021 census, 8,714 citizens declared themselves Vlachs in Macedonia - though unofficial estimates go as high as 15,000-20,000, given decades of quiet assimilation. They're concentrated in a few cities - Bitola, Kruševo, Štip - and in smaller villages. Numerically not a large community, but their language - Vlach, a Romance dialect - and their tradition - merchant, livestock, çaršija - are important threads of the Balkan mosaic. The wider Vlach population is in slow language decline - only 3,151 citizens reported Vlach as their mother tongue, with young people drifting toward Macedonian and Albanian.

The political rhetoric toward the Vlachs isn't exactly free. The Vlachs are traditionally seen as a community loyal to the Macedonian political mainstream - their voting base is modest but consistent. This kind of „affirming greeting" is part of maintaining that bridge. No risk for the government, politically safe gesture, and at the same time a signal to the other minorities - „we respect your rights if you're loyal".

Respect for the Vlachs will be more convincing when we see concrete measures to preserve the language. Vlach classes in primary schools. Funding for the Vlach cultural association Manuš. Preserving the old çaršija architecture in Kruševo. All of it falls within the state's remit, and no greeting can substitute for any of it. The Vlachs heard greetings 20 years ago, too. They're still waiting for the concrete decisions.