The president of Macedonia's Chamber of Commerce, Branko Azeski, is warning: inflation is getting out of control, and companies are on the brink. "Inflation is the worst evil that can happen to a country," he said.

The main message is that you don't defend an economy with "optimistic statements, but with timely and precise measures". That's a direct message to the government - which for months has been selling a narrative of "stable economy". According to Azeski, firms are on the edge: one more price shock and many won't be able to take it. Fuel prices are the main risk - with 5.7 percent inflation and 8 percent food price growth, every further increase translates directly into the citizens' shopping basket.

The question is - who will pay? Azeski answers: if the authorities don't react, workers will pay first - through wages that don't rise, through layoffs, through loss of purchasing power. That's the same script the Balkans have watched many times: one price hike, then another, then companies collapsing, then layoffs, then emigration, then political protest.

The government claims 30 teams are inspecting supermarkets, that fruit and vegetable prices are already down, that the inspections wrap up on 20 May, and that if inflated margins are found - there will be measures. That sounds good on paper. But how does the shopper at "Vero" in Skopje actually know whether produce got 20 percent cheaper, or whether they're just supposed to trust the minister? And when inflation on basic food items is 8 percent, what does "controlled, stable market" mean - according to someone with a real shopping basket, or according to a statistician in an office?

Azeski underlines: companies can't absorb another price shock. That's the line at which the government has to react - not with statements, but with measures. The day after 20 May will show who has to answer.