SDSM leader Venko Filipče is calling on citizens to join a newly formed opposition coalition, the "Front for Freedom and Justice." He made the appeal at the NSDP congress, extending it to political parties, civic organizations, activists, intellectuals, young people, students and pensioners.

The rhetoric was sharp. Filipče described the current government as "criminal," claiming the country is captured and that institutions serve the interests of one party instead of citizens. For him, the "Front for Freedom and Justice" is meant to be a broad platform uniting everyone opposed to the current authorities.

But let's remember: this is the same SDSM that was in power until recently. The same faces who ran the state for eight years now present themselves as the alternative to a situation they either created or failed to fix. The talk of a "captured state" sounds familiar - it's the exact phrase VMRO-DPMNE used against them.

Filipče offered no concrete program beyond a call for unity against the government. There are no details on what the "Front" would do differently, what its economic or social policies are, or how it plans to win back the voters it lost in the last election.

The question that hangs over it all: does a change of name bring a change of substance? The opposition has every right to reinvent itself, but voters have already seen these faces in power. "Front for Freedom and Justice" looks good on paper - but the Balkans are full of fronts, platforms and alliances like this that fall apart the moment the votes are counted.