Parliament held an oversight hearing on the enforcement of the Law on the Use of the Macedonian Language - a law that exists on paper, but whose application, according to the opposition, has been stuck for years. The question is simple and uncomfortable: if we have a law that protects the language, why does no one care whether it is enforced at all?

The hearing was run by the Committee on Culture and Tourism, and it was attended by Culture Minister Zoran Ljutkov, the head of the Inspectorate for the Macedonian Language, representatives of the Council for the Macedonian Language and the academic community. The aim was to gain insight into how the legal provisions are applied in practice and whether the institutions are meeting their obligations - or merely listing them in ceremonial speeches.

The initiative came from the opposition SDSM. MP Bisera Kostadinovska-Stojčevska charged that the government had not enforced a single provision of the law in two years, and that the language „must not merely be mentioned in ceremonial speeches,“ but should be „among the first priorities in cultural and state policy.“ It's hard to disagree - even if, coming from a politician, such words always carry a dose of pre-election score-settling.

What gives the story its weight is a single resignation. The chair of the Council for the Macedonian Language, Simona Gruevska-Madžoska, recently resigned, accusing Minister Ljutkov of ignoring the Council's work. When the very person appointed to guard the language walks away saying no one is listening, that says more than any oversight hearing. The committee will prepare a report - and we'll see whether anything follows it, or whether it becomes yet another document gathering dust while the language is defended mainly on posters for state holidays.