North Macedonia’s Premier Becomes the Victim of His Own Bluff

After the fact, one could argue that his ill-thought-out bet that people would flock to support him is a good illustration of how he and particularly the people around him have lost touch with reality and to what extent his inner circle is packed with yes-men who are totally ignorant of the true sentiments in society.

This is not the first time Zaev has gambled. But his biggest mistake in the turbulent past five years has been betting on the European Union card.

Zaev arrived in office after the 2016 general elections on a tidal wave of discontent with the regime of now fugitive Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, and promised reforms, justice and membership of EU and NATO.

He closed the painful 'name' dispute with Greece at the price of changing the country's name, a move that instantly cut off part of his support. To push through changes to the constitution to adopt the deal and secure two-thirds majority support in parliament, he had to cut deals with MPs who should have been in jail, losing another part of his support. When his party officials were exposed to be involved in corrupt schemes, he stood by them unreservedly, losing yet more supporters.

These are hardly the only reasons why people are angry with him. Dismantling a highly efficient state capture by the previous administration takes time, and the Social Democrats wasted more time than they spent focusing on reform. The fact they decided, in name of reconciliation, to leave in place all of VMRO-DPMNE's previously installed administrators also provided the opposition with the opportunity to stall reforms from within.

By offering his head as a prize, Zaev changed what the elections were about and mobilised everyone who was seeking to end his reign, while the people he...

Continue reading on: