Former Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management and Deputy Prime Minister for Anti-Corruption Ljupčo Nikolovski has been summoned to a formal interview at the Interior Ministry. The interview took place on 7 May at the Economic Crime and Corruption Unit of the Skopje SVR - information the Ministry confirmed only after it had already appeared in the media.

According to the information available, Nikolovski is suspected of abuse over a public tender worth more than 800,000 euros, during his time as minister. The complaint was filed by farmers who claim they suffered damages in disbursements from a Ministry of Agriculture programme.

In his statement, Nikolovski referred to a government decree granting him discretionary power to decide which farmers received the funds. A classic corruption excuse - „I had the right to decide alone, and I decided alone". The question investigators now have to answer is whether that right was exercised lawfully or breached.

The timing matters. Less than a month ago, Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said he had a „feeling" that former officials would soon be prosecuted for corruption. The „feeling" is now turning into court procedures. The first question every citizen should ask is - is this the start of a series, or just an isolated case ahead of local elections?

With this, Nikolovski becomes the first former senior SDSM official to be brought in for a formal interview after the political change of power. For now no reaction from him, nor from the party. Silence at moments like these isn't a sign of a clean conscience - it's a sign of legal strategy.