From the podium at a party congress, it's easy to talk about truths - it's harder to prove them when you yourself were once in power. The leader of the opposition SDSM, Venko Filipče, used the platform for a sharp attack on the government: corruption is blooming, he claims, and the prosecution is being used for revanchism instead of fighting it.

„People don't live off statements and PR. They live amid high prices, low wages, and no security," Filipče said. And he added numbers to back it up: „This April, the cost of living rose by 5.7 percent compared to the same month last year. In industry, employment fell by 2.3 percent year on year."

The sharpest part concerned the judiciary. „The courts show no progress; the government wants total control. Instead of fighting corruption, it uses the prosecution for revanchism and attacks on the opposition," he stated, adding that media freedom is also declining and democracy „is going dark."

He closed with a line tailored for headlines: „A state is not run with spite, but with vision. A state is not defended with excuses, but with results." It sounds good - but it's worth remembering that the same criticisms, aimed today at the government, can come back tomorrow as a boomerang. Because high prices, a weak judiciary, and pressure on the media didn't appear overnight; they're ailments inherited by every government in this country, including the one led by this very party. The question for a voter isn't who criticizes better from the opposition - it's who actually changed anything while in power.