Former ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina to Pakistan, Afghanistan, Norway, and Iceland, Nedim Makarević has been appointed by the German liberal party FDP (Free Democratic Party) to the position of their representative for the Western Balkans.
As emphasized by Makarević himself, during the last elections, FDP did not achieve the expected results, barely crossing the five percent electoral threshold. Consequently, the party leadership decided to introduce the liberal ideas, which are generally perceived as somewhat elitist, more deliberately and strategically to a broader population in Germany. In this sense, one of the crucial steps is to focus on German citizens and voters from the countries of the former Yugoslavia and the entire Western Balkans.
There is no reliable data on how many people from the Western Balkans live in Germany, or how many of them have voting rights. However, it is estimated that at least 1.5 million residents of Germany directly or indirectly originate from that region, with half of them having the right to vote in German elections.
Considering that the idea of liberalism is primarily associated with the economy and serves as the backbone of entrepreneurial spirit in the West, and, on the other hand, our people are very entrepreneurial and exhibit a free entrepreneurial spirit, the question arises whether the liberal option is also the right choice for people originating from the Western Balkans in Germany. The answer is logical and affirmative, and the party has agreed on a strategy to bring liberal ideas closer to people with Western Balkan origins,” emphasizes Makarević.
He emphasizes that our people often do not recognize all the benefits offered by liberal policies, which focus on reducing taxes, economic development, and encouraging entrepreneurship, and FDP is precisely the carrier of these ideas in German society.
“Since I have been in Germany for many years, I have had many opportunities to work with our people and see the enormous entrepreneurial potential of our people. However, due to a lack of self-organization and a kind of apathy towards German politics, there has been no political action towards a common goal until now. There simply was no strategy or guiding idea. In that regard, the opportunity has now arisen for our people to become acquainted with and convinced of the advantages offered by FDP for the development of their business and better employee status. My mission in all of this is to, with the help of party organs, civic associations, and foundations such as the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, which has a broad network in Germany and around the world, bring this idea closer to our people in Germany. One of the projects already realized in this direction is the podcast series #nemadanema where various social topics are treated through the idea of liberalism with the aim of bringing them closer to the audience from the Western Balkans,” Makarević states.