The Mayor of Strumica, Kostadin Kostadinov, in a post on social media on the occasion of the upcoming women's party march for March 8, announced a turnaround in the attitude of his party, the Social Democratic Union, towards "gender ideology".

In the post, Kostadinov even accuses his political opponents from VMRO-DPMNE of hypocrisy on this topic, saying that it is a shame for the party that was only declaratively against “gender ideology,” while now “they are refining laws that brutally affirm gender ideology.” As an argument for his leftist party’s sharp turn to the right, Kostadinov says that gender ideology “is driving the whole world away.”

"SDSM is changing its approach! SDSM has shown that it is listening to the justified revolt of all of us. Women must be put first, gender removed! It now remains for those who slandered and stigmatized people, held press conferences about how much they were against gender ideologies, and today they are further specifying laws in which they brutally affirm the gender ideology that the whole world is rejecting. Shame on VMRO-DPMNE," writes Kostadinov.

"Gender ideology" is a term used by conservatives, especially in America, who claim that behind the promotion of diversity and state support for affirming gender sensitivity, which were the policies of previous governments in the US (and the SDSM government in Macedonia), lies a deliberate, systematic and organized ideological attack on the family and traditional values. "The fight"against all forms of promotion of diversity by state institutions is one of the main topics in the first month of Donald Trump's presidency in the United States."

SDSM issued a statement this evening denying Kostadinov's allegations and emphasizing that they do not represent the official positions of the entire party.

SDSM distances itself from Kostadinov over "gender ideology": These are not the official positions of the party