Former prime minister Nikola Gruevski was granted Hungarian citizenship in 2022, on the basis of the "state interest of Hungary." The discovery was made by the investigative portal VSquare, citing Hungarian state sources. With this, his return to Macedonia through extradition becomes a near-impossible mission.

The chronology is clear. November 2018 - Gruevski flees Macedonia before serving a two-year prison sentence in the "Tanker" case (the purchase of an armored Mercedes for 600,000 euros). Since then he has been living in Budapest with political asylum. Now - with citizenship. The two are not the same thing. Asylum can be revoked more easily. Citizenship - cannot.

Why not? Because for Hungary to revoke Gruevski's citizenship, it would have to prove fraud or corruption in the acquisition process itself. And in a process that went through the highest levels of government under prime minister Viktor Orban. In other words - for Gruevski to be returned, not only his Hungarian connections would have to fall, but his top-level patrons would too.

The new Hungarian prime minister Peter Magyar recently said the opposite - that Hungary "will not shelter international criminals," and named Gruevski specifically. That's a goodnight line in a speech, not a legal commitment. And while the Macedonian judiciary has officially been seeking his extradition since 2018, six years later the result is - citizenship.

For Macedonia, this is an old lesson with new confirmation. When politicians at the top run, they rarely come back. The system lets them go, then asks only for a paper return, while they meanwhile change passport, address, and the name on the bank account. The "Tanker" case still stands unfulfilled. And he still stands just as far away.