Prime Minister Mickoski declared that the technical government stays for the next elections too. SDSM insists that "the conditions for its abolition have not been created." Two blocs, two narratives, and the citizens - stuck in between.

The technical government - a mechanism designed for electoral oversight - is slowly becoming a permanent political instrument. SDSM claims that without it there are no fair elections, VMRO-DPMNE claims SDSM fears defeat. Both sides have their arguments, but neither explains why a temporary solution has been lasting for years.

"The state must not remain hostage to temporary solutions that turn into permanent tools for political conditioning," reads SDSM's latest statement. The irony: that is exactly a description of what is happening - a temporary government that lasts longer than some regular ones.

In the end, the question is simple: does the technical government exist to ensure fair elections, or to ensure an argument for perpetual instability? In the Balkans, the temporary is the most permanent thing there is.