1 A banal video of a Porsche parked incorrectly in the heart of Debar Maalo in Skopje gives me hope that citizens, especially young people, are waking up from their lethargy. We witness such situations every day, not only in the centre of Skopje. And not only at certain times of day. However, this time, someone stood their ground, even in their powerlessness before a state that protects the thugs, and decided to use the only weapon they had – posting the video on social media.

The internal investigation at the Ministry of Internal Affairs may reveal abuse of office by the young police officer who prevented the tow truck from removing the incorrectly parked vehicle. However, it may also reveal that the young police officer didn’t act the way he was taught, out of fear of losing his job.

It’s unfortunate that the society’s wake-up call only came after the fire at a nightclub in Kochani claimed 60 lives. Truth be told, the government woke up too, along with the police and the prosecution. But I fear that they’ll fall asleep again unless citizens remain vigilant to keep them awake.

My hope is renewed when I see that young people are demanding the justice they deserve. My hope is renewed when I see the girls and boys from the #SupportKocani initiative, who update us daily on their Instagram profiles with the specific actions they’re taking to revive the city. My hope is renewed when I watch footage from hospitals in Sofia and Belgrade, where young people waited for hours, day after day, to donate blood for their peers from the Kochani nightclub who are fighting for their lives in their countries. One of them said: “It was hard for me, but isn’t it normal to be humane despite all the political nonsense.”

Wouldn’t you agree? They weren’t forced to do that by Radev, Vucic or Mickoski. They did it willingly, spent their time, waited patiently in the hallway, simply because they took a stance. They felt the need to be human.

2 The hope lies with those children, not in the fact that Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski and SDSM leader Venko Filipche had a leadership meeting. Oh, how many seasons of leadership meetings have we witnessed so far? At this stage, allegedly, both have agreed to work for the good of the citizens. Citizens expect the depoliticisation of institutions. It’s pretty naïve to expect the parties to work on depoliticising institutions that they themselves have policiticised.

In fact, we all saw how much they care about depoliticisation when they jointly changed the law to increase the quota for collecting signatures, making it harder for independent candidates and civic initiatives to participate in elections. In the local elections four years ago, civic initiatives emerged as the fourth political force in the country. In the municipalities where there are two or three councillors from those initiatives, transparency has been strengthened, and there is some kind of oversight over the local government. They can’t change much, but at least they help keep the government in check.

So, the parties got scared someone might rock their boat and agreed to protect themselves from the citizens by complicating the method of collecting signatures for election participation. And just like that, no matter which party is in power, they’ll always find a way to silence the citizens and make them feel guilty for daring to demand their rights.

Every protest by the citizens doesn’t necessarily signal a change of government. I couldn’t care less who’s in power if there’s no system in place. What difference does it make to me who isn’t enforcing the law? And that’s exactly why we mustn’t stay silent. Even if it’s just by documenting the violations on social media. By reporting anyone who throws rubbish in the mountains, anyone who usurps with illegal buildings, anyone who doesn’t issue fiscal receipts, anyone who harasses us by blasting loud music, revs motorbikes, lights unprotected fires, asks for bribes, any civil servant not at work, any inspector who hasn’t gone out into the field…

As much as the government now has a chance that it mustn’t miss if it genuinely wants to reset the corrupt system, we – the citizens – mustn’t miss that chance even more.

When there’s no strong citizenry, there are no strong institutions.

3 Tetovo is the only city in the country that doesn’t have a park. Two years ago, children went door to door in the city, handing out flyers demanding the creation of a park. The authorities promised them one, just to get rid of them. Yet the only piece of state land that could have been turned into a park was sold by the Municipality for 7,000 euros to merge with an existing plot for residential buildings with 2,000 flats. The procedure was started by Teuta Arifi from DUI in 2014 and completed by Bilal Kasami from Besa in 2024.

Kasami claims he was just enforcing the law. Shame on him. If he had the political will to create a park, he would have done so. Instead, he had the political will to make an excuse for turning the land into a private plot for private business.

Children were sold out for 7,000 euros. The parties scammed them.

Does the government understand that the children who were collecting signatures for a park don’t care whether it was Teuta or Bilal who screwed them over? It doesn’t matter who started it or who finished it. Neither Teuta nor Bilal cared about the public interest. The parties have no political interest in the happiness of citizens. What matters to them is the happiness of the owner of the landowner.

And what will Kasami offer the people of Tetovo in the local elections? A residential complex instead of a park, the names of anti-fascists erased from street signs, and Albanian flags replacing clean air.

But the children have already grown up. And they’re starting to think differently from the voters the parties are used to – those who are ruled by fear, clientelism, and cheap party announcements. Before long, those children will make them pay for the park they sold out on them.

4President Donald Trump has imposed a 33 percent tariff on imports of Macedonian products into the US. Mickoski’s government stated that “this is an attempt to renegotiate global trade relations – something that was necessary and, although now a shock for some, will present an opportunity for others.”

One might think the statement wasn’t written on Ilindenska Street in Skopje, but in the White House in Washington. The government that has been mocking Zoran Zaev and Dimitar Kovachevski for going abroad, licking boots and lowering themselves is now justifying Trump’s decision to hit us with a 33 percent tariff.

Mickoski visited the US three times after Trump’s inauguration. And we got a 33 percent tariff. It’s a good thing he didn’t go a fourth time. The tariffs would have been 44 percent.

Translated by Nikola Gjelincheski