SDSM sent out two statements in a single day. Both with the same goal - to chip away at the political rating of Hristijan Mickoski's government. The topics differ, the rhetoric does not. The Prime Minister - whether by accident or by design - is not delivering.

First topic - EU reforms. According to SDSM, „another 19 days" until the deadline that will prove the government will not deliver. „No reforms. No results. No progress." The opposition argues Mickoski is deliberately escalating a fight with Bulgaria to deflect attention from the missed targets at home.

SDSM points out that VMRO-DPMNE and its partners hold an absolute majority in parliament. That means they do not need opposition votes to pass any law. Even so, the government keeps pointing the finger at the opposition - and that, SDSM says, is a „scapegoat" for their own failures.

Second topic - the extradition of Nikola Gruevski. SDSM claims Mickoski is blocking the extradition of the former VMRO-DPMNE leader from Hungary. According to the opposition, citizens deserve clarity - have extradition requests and paperwork actually been filed with the Ministry of Justice?

Here SDSM goes a step further. It claims there are „internal divisions" inside VMRO over going after Gruevski. Part of the membership is against - they do not want the ex-leader brought back. Another part is pulling its support. According to SDSM, Mickoski „is blocking the extradition" not just to protect Gruevski - but to protect „his own political circle".

The question SDSM never answers - did their own ministers in previous governments have the same opportunity, and why is Gruevski still in Hungary today? From 2018 to 2024 SDSM was in power. And in those six years, Hungary never let Gruevski go. That is a fact SDSM rarely puts into its statements about Mickoski.

For Macedonian politics this is an old formula. Both sides accuse. Nobody answers. VMRO will reply with „SDSM was in power for 6 years". SDSM will reply with „you have done nothing in 19 days". Voters hear it all - and go to work. EU integration drags on. Bulgaria is still waiting for constitutional changes. And Gruevski is still in Budapest.