Butel has once again become terrain for a political showdown. After Ali Ahmeti, in a public speech in the municipality, called on Albanians to unite, mayor Darko Kostovski fired back sharply: "Butel is not for sale." He rejected the unity calls as a disguised attempt at personal and party gain.

Kostovski claims that behind the calls from Ahmeti and the DUI lies not concern for residents but an interest in uncontrolled construction that brings them financial profit, while leaving the municipality with urban chaos. He recalled the 2017-2021 period, when the DUI had a deputy mayor in Butel, calling it "the darkest in the history of this beautiful municipality."

According to him, back then not even the basics were secured - clean drinking water for the residents of Ljuboten, nor new kindergartens in Butel 2. "What hurts you the most is that Butel is not for sale," Kostovski said, setting his approach of coexistence and concrete projects against what he called empty rhetoric.

Behind the sharp words hides a familiar Balkan model - local politics turned into ethnic arithmetic, where every municipality becomes a battlefield for votes. The residents of Butel, whether they're Macedonians or Albanians, in the end want the same: water, kindergartens, asphalt, peace. The question is whether the politicians are listening to them, or just using them as a backdrop for the next campaign.