Izet Mexhiti, co-chair of the VLEN coalition, marked September 8, the Independence Day of North Macedonia, with a message about the character of the state. In his greeting, he argued that equality among citizens and the country's multiethnic makeup are the basis of the North Macedonia being built. He described the country as a multiethnic state and said every community must have a place in its political and social life. Mexhiti also tied the anniversary to balanced development, framing fair treatment across regions and groups as part of the same idea. As a senior Albanian figure in government, his words carried weight for relations between ethnic Macedonians and the Albanian community. VLEN sits in the governing coalition, so statements like this feed an ongoing debate over the state's identity. Independence Day has long been a moment when the country's politicians lay out competing visions of the nation. Mexhiti used his to press for a state that treats all its communities as equals.