At the celebration of VMRO-DPMNE's 36th anniversary in Strumica, Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski repeated what he calls a red line: "There is no bargaining over our Macedonian identity." At the same time, he told citizens to prepare for a "marathon" toward the European Union.

The message is clear for both the domestic and the foreign audience. To Brussels - that membership remains a strategic goal, but not at any price. To his own voters - that the government won't budge on questions of identity and language, the issues at the heart of the dispute with Bulgaria.

The rhetoric of "red lines" and "marathons" sounds firm, but also conveniently vague. A marathon has no deadline - and that's precisely what makes it politically useful. When you're asked why there's no progress, you can always say the marathon is still running. And identity as a "red line" is a position you can hardly lose with at home, regardless of what is actually happening at the negotiating table.

The question left hanging is practical, not ideological: what does this government concretely offer to move the process forward, beyond the claim that it won't budge? The Balkans know all too well that "no bargaining" sounds heroic at a rally, but that real politics always plays out in small concessions far from the stadium. How far will the marathon go if no one wants to be the first to set off?