A vote on forming a Macedonian government of national unity was delayed today after an ethnic Albanian opposition party asked for a recess to discuss a hard-hitting speech by Prime Minister Mr Ljubco Georgievski.
Mr Georgievski negotiated the formation of the coalition in order to strengthen his hand against ethnic Albanian guerrillas and used his speech introducing his ministerial line-up to deliver a tough message.
The prime minister told parliament the rebels were "a cruel enemy that has to be crushed" and said the government was "mature enough to deal with terrorism and extremism and to isolate them."
He said that the army, which has responded to a guerrilla offensive that left ten security personnel dead by shelling rebel-held villages, would receive better training and equipment and that a new specialist force would be formed.
The ethnic Albanian Party for Democratic Prosperity (PDP) immediately called for a recess to discuss the speech. Parliamentary speaker Mr Stojan Andov said the session would resume at 8:30 p.m. (1830 GMT).
The PDP was the last of the four main Macedonian parties to agree to join the coalition and threw the negotiations into turmoil on Tuesday when it backed off from an initial agreement to take part.
It now says it will join the government but has opposed the use of military force against the rebels. Party officials have said that guerrilla representatives should be involved in discussions on constitutional reform.
The party has been allotted two ministries in Mr Georgievski's proposed cabinet, justice and local government, and will have one of four vice-prime ministerial posts. Another ethnic Albanian party, the Democratic Party of Albanians, has been less reticent about taking part in the coalition.
AFP