According to the opposition, in a normal state a prime minister should resign immediately when he admits to phoning the state public prosecutor about a specific case. According to the prime minister, that is - normal. According to the Constitution - irregular at the very least. And between the opposition and the PM stands the reality that in the past 24 hours both actors (PM Hristijan Mickoski and state public prosecutor Nenad Saveski) have confirmed they spoke on the phone. They only disagree about the content.

The SDSM secretary for international cooperation, Andrej Zhernovski, demanded Mickoski's resignation yesterday on the show "24 analiza" on TV 24, and announced that the opposition will consider an interpellation. "The prime minister should have resigned. He deserves an interpellation, we should think about that option. This is not defendable. In a country, for a prime minister to phone the state public prosecutor is grounds for resignation immediately," Zhernovski said.

The context: Mickoski stated a few days ago that he had been in touch with the state public prosecutor and expects that, following ESM's appeal, the case on the mazut procurement will be reopened. Saveski confirmed they had spoken on the phone - but claimed they had not discussed details of the case. So in the same matter we have an admitted phone call, two different descriptions of the content, and one case that the PM "expects to be reopened."

Zhernovski is right about one thing: in legal systems that take separation of powers seriously, contact between the executive branch and the prosecutor's office about a specific case is a closed matter. It is not up for discussion, there is no room for "we did not discuss the details." Separation exists - or it does not.

Where Zhernovski is less convincing is here: will SDSM actually take the interpellation process to the end, or is this just another statement for the evening show that will fizzle out without consequences in the coming days? "We should think about that option" is not "we will table it." That is rhetoric, not a decision. A concrete interpellation motion in the Parliament needs a majority, a political strategy, and the will to see it through. The Macedonian opposition has, so far, shown none of the three.

And Mickoski, meanwhile - keeps working. No resignation. No explanation. He "expects the case to be reopened." And that is all. The prime ministerial post in this country has shown itself to be much further from European standards of accountability than anyone was ready to admit.