Filkov: the Bar Exam Can Only Be Taken in Macedonian, and He Learned About His Successor's "Hybrid Solution" From the Media

Former justice minister and chairman of ZNAM's Central Committee Igor Filkov said the Constitution and the laws do not allow the bar exam to be taken in any language other than Macedonian. "At the moment there is no possibility of taking it in another language under the Constitution and the laws. Let's wait for a solution to be found, let's see it, then we'll talk," Filkov said.

Filkov called the solution offered by his successor at the Ministry of Justice, Jeton Shasivari of VLEN, "hybrid" - and added that he learned about it from the media. That sentence says more than the dispute itself: the former minister and his successor sit in the same government, yet they hear about a key issue from the same ministry through the newspapers.

"I'm not against anyone taking it in a language that is allowed under the laws and the Constitution. What worries me is that this hybrid solution was flatly rejected by those who are protesting and refusing to take it in the language they will have to use tomorrow in all the institutions where they plan to work as judges, lawyers, prosecutors," Filkov said.

The issue turned into a coalition problem after ZNAM leader and Kumanovo mayor Maksim Dimitrievski said in a TV interview on Friday that his party would leave the government if taking the exam in a language other than Macedonian is accepted. He added that ZNAM's position is known to Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski and that he will ask for a leaders' meeting to define red lines with the coalition partners.

One coalition partner offers the solution, another threatens to leave if it passes. The exam meant to test future judges and prosecutors has become a test for the government itself. Which solution does the prime minister back?