SDSM is categorical: the caretaker government must stay. It is, in their view, the only remaining mechanism for at least somewhat fair elections. VMRO-DPMNE and the ZNAM movement see it differently - the caretaker government has completed its function and is now a burden blocking normal political life.

Behind the formal dispute lies a concrete question: when will the next elections be held and under what conditions? SDSM, in opposition, wants maximum institutional protection before a race in which it is the underdog. The ruling party wants to organise elections on its own terms. The caretaker government is just the playing field for that broader battle.

Citizens, meanwhile, have caretaker mandates, caretaker budgets and caretaker solutions for problems that require political decisiveness. Does either side really have them in mind - or only their position after the elections?