SDSM has come out with a sharp statement claiming that half of Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski's government holds Bulgarian passports. The claim - and the fact that SDSM is making it now - deserves serious scrutiny.

The party says VMRO-DPMNE rejected its draft law that would ban ministers, deputy prime ministers and senior officials from holding dual citizenship. According to SDSM, "half of Mickoski's government would have to resign" if the law were passed.

SDSM's argument: hypocrisy. The same officials who publicly run nationalist rhetoric defending Macedonian identity "have quietly secured themselves European documents" through Bulgarian citizenship. Deputy prime ministers, ministers, MPs, mayors and directors - all holding Bulgarian passports while delivering speeches about "the unyielding nature of Macedonian identity."

Before picking a side, a serious question needs asking. Does SDSM have evidence, or only assumptions? Are we talking about five people or fifty? The statement trades in generalities - "half of the government" - but no concrete names or proof have been put on the table.

That said, if VMRO-DPMNE really did reject a law banning dual citizenship for officials, that alone is a political signal. Why would a party that officially builds an identity platform against Bulgarian aspirations reject a law protecting its own officials from dual loyalty?

For the Macedonian voter, this is a good moment to ask the question politicians of every stripe duck: how many people in Macedonian institutions actually carry passports of countries openly lobbying against Macedonian national interests? Not only Bulgarian - Greek, Serbian, others. No such list exists as a public document. And that is a conscious choice.

In the end, while parties use Bulgarian passports as weapons in their feuds, the ordinary citizen waits for an answer: who represents their interests? Because over the last 30 years, both SDSM and VMRO-DPMNE have protected their officials - not the citizens. Why would this time be any different?