The leader of SDSM, Venko Filipče, didn't pick soft words. He called the government "corrupt" and accused it of steering the country in the wrong direction - of piling on debt without a clear plan and trying to survive through populism, nationalism and manipulation. Sharp language, but also expected - such is the rhythm of Macedonian politics, where every opposition talks about a corrupt government, and every government about an incompetent opposition.

The problem with statements like these isn't whether they're true or not - they often carry a grain of truth - but that they become white noise. When "corrupt government" is repeated every day from every podium, the word slowly loses its weight. And the citizen, who actually cares whether there's a job, whether the rent eats up the pay, and whether the hospital works, is left with yet another press conference full of labels and empty of solutions.

That's where the Balkan paradox hides. Accusations of corruption fly in all directions, but rarely does anyone end up in court, and even more rarely behind bars. Every party accuses the other, and the system that was supposed to check those accusations - usually stays silent. Whether Filipče has concrete evidence or just rhetoric for the cameras, time will tell, but experience so far doesn't inspire great optimism.

The question worth asking isn't whether the government is corrupt - that's an easy thesis for any opposition. The question is why, no matter which party is in power, citizens always feel that things work out for someone else and not for them. That's not the problem of one government, but of a system that has been changing colours for decades, but not its habits.