The government has rejected the proposal by Venko Filipche, SDSM leader, for a referendum in which citizens would decide on constitutional changes and the EU integration path. The short message from the government: "We will not waste time or money." The argument: the Reform Agenda has already proven the country's European orientation, and all "available funds" right now are going to concrete projects, not political exercises.

Filipche's proposal arrived in a specific context. SDSM, now in opposition, wants citizens directly involved in the decision on the constitutional changes tied to the Bulgarian minority - an amendment that the Mickoski-VLEN government formally postpones while substantively blocking it. By proposing a referendum, Filipche put the government in a bind: either accept it (and risk a loss), or reject it (and be accused of sidestepping a citizen vote).

The government picked the second option - with a pointed reminder of 30 September 2018, when SDSM ran the referendum on the constitutional changes for the name "North Macedonia". That vote failed the turnout threshold and left an unresolved legal dispute. The government's argument: "We saw how SDSM imagines a plebiscite without guarantees." Translation: if you could not pull it off when you were in power, why should we try it now?

For citizens, the question is simple. Will the constitutional changes tied to the Bulgarian minority be passed without their direct say? Under the current political scenario, the answer is "probably yes". That means a new round of political tension over the coming months - with SDSM as the opposition using the issue to delegitimise the government, and VMRO-DPMNE dragging out a decision they know will be unpopular. Classic Balkan politics. Citizens as the last stop on the decision chain.