Zaev Mulls his Cabinet Lineup in Macedonia

The Social Democrats' vice president Radmila Shekerinska and the party's secretary general Oliver Spasovski are almost sure candidates for key ministerial posts in the new government led by the Social Democrat head Zoran Zaev, BIRN has found out.

Shekerinska, who was Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs back in 2005 when Macedonia acquired EU candidate member status, is a serious candidate for resuming the same office or for leading the Foreign Ministry, an unnamed source close to the party's leadership told BIRN.

Spasovski, on the other hand, "is a serious candidate for new Interior Minister, should this ministry belong to the SDSM [the Social Democrats]", after inter-party government talks which are on the way, conclude, the source said.

Spasovski led the Interior Ministry during much of the past two years, but as an interim minister in the government that was assembled in order to prepare the December 11 general elections. As such, he had only limited authority over the ministry which he was forced to share with members of the former ruling VMRO DPMNE party.

Another former participant in the interim government, Kire Naumov, is mentioned as a candidate for new Finance Minister.

Another prominent SDSM member, law professor Renata Deskoska, is mentioned as a probable pick for the post of new Justice Minister.

According to BIRN's source, "nothing is definite yet, as we still have to talk to our partners [the three ethnic Albanian parties that form part of the new majority] and divide the ministerial positions".

However, the same source said that the SDSM will try not to recruit many new ministers from the ranks of current MPs, "as we would like to have a strong parliamentary group as well".