The question was specific: does the government plan to cut the VAT rate on fuel? Prime minister Hristijan Mickoski's answer also sounded specific.

"Yes, we are planning, we have a clear strategy, we have a clear plan," he said.

Three claims in one sentence, and not one of them with any content. When will it be cut? From what to what? Under what condition does the measure kick in? None of that followed. The VAT rate on fuel is still 18 percent.

Prices are back at 2022 levels

The context that makes the question urgent: under the Energy Regulatory Commission's decision, diesel costs 101.5 denars a litre and Eurosuper BS-95 sells for 93 denars. That is the highest level since October, or rather November, of 2022.

The government has already applied this exact measure before - a VAT cut alongside an excise cut, to soften the knock-on effect on other prices. So the tool exists, it has been tested, and everyone knows how it works. Right now it is being held back.

"It could last several years"

The reasoning is macroeconomic. "According to our analyses this will last, this situation happening in the Gulf could last several years, so we are taking our steps carefully so as not to disturb macroeconomic stability in the country," Mickoski said.

The argument is legitimate - if a crisis runs for years, burning the fiscal room in month one is bad tactics. But then "we are planning, we have a clear plan" means something other than what it sounds like. It means the plan is to do nothing until things get much worse, and that the threshold for acting has not been stated.

Mickoski also did not answer the question of whether talks are under way with OKTA about a fuel discount, as happened in the previous period.

The comparison that is always to hand

Instead came the regional comparison. Diesel here, the prime minister claims, is half a euro per litre cheaper than in Albania, 35 cents cheaper than in Serbia, and 30 to 50 cents a litre cheaper than in every country in the region - Greece, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro. People from neighbouring countries have been coming to fill up at Macedonian pumps.

"If we set politics aside and start looking at the numbers we will reach the conclusion that right now we are paying the least, since we all buy our oil and petroleum products from the same place," Mickoski said.

The figure is probably accurate. But "cheaper than Albania" is not an answer to "why is it 30 percent more expensive than last year". The driver filling a tank is not comparing himself with Tirana - he is comparing himself with his own bill from last year.

Reserves and inflation

Mickoski says state oil reserves are sufficient to cover the increased consumption - up to 50-60 percent of pre-crisis levels - and that no restriction has been introduced. Several airports in the region are supplied via re-export from Macedonia.

He also pointed to inflation: 2.3 percent year on year in July, the lowest in the region, and 1.7-1.8 percent in retail. "These are the facts," the prime minister concluded.

Facts are facts. But fuel is an input line on nearly every delivery note in this country, and the transmission from pump to shelf does not happen in the same month. If the situation really does last several years, as the prime minister himself warns, then the question is not whether VAT will be cut. The question is what the trigger will be - and why it has not been said out loud.