1 Considering the fact that former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, who fled the country seven years ago, can still make the headlines with a simple post on social media and a photo of Budapest dressed up in New Year lights, things don’t look promising.

What does Gruevski have to say that’s worth quoting, given the man is a fugitive from justice? If he’s got something to say, he should come back and say it in court. It’s one thing that he left his closest associates behind to serve time for his “I’ve got an idea” crimes , they were adults and knew what they were doing, but it’s another that he ran away from his own children. They were little when he left them. Why should anything that man says matter now?

I pity VMRO-DMNE if it’s come to relying on Gruevski in Budapest to help them out by saying something about Zoran Zaev and Venko Filipche. They’re still keeping the public occupied with the very people they’ve already beaten twice in elections.

I pity VMRO-DPMNE if it has nothing original to offer and is still preoccupied with a defeated SDSM. But I pity us even more if we’re offered so little that we actually end up caring about Gruevski’s opinion.

So much is happening in our beloved Macedonia, and yet, in truth – nothing is happening.

2 There might be some hope after all with the “Safe City” system now operational for detecting traffic violations and issuing fines through its camera network. If it is implemented properly, it could bring about a revolutionary change to our everyday lives.

I admit I don’t always understand people and their understanding of the law. They expect things to work as they do in the West, yet they don’t want to be the first ones the law is applied to. During this trial period, some drivers received warnings for going 51 kilometres per hour where the limit was 50. It’s simple: 50 kilometres per hour is legal, 51 kilometres is illegal. Or, in even simpler terms: If you drive 50 kilometres per hour, it’s free, if you drive 51 kilometres per hours – you pay.

It’s the same as saying the girl is a little pregnant. There’s no such thing as a little or a lot. She either is or isn’t pregnant.

I ‘m also one of those people who dash through a yellow light, who go a bit faster than allowed when driving through my neighbourhood,  who park on the pavement…We can come up with any number of excuses for our behaviour in traffic. Starting from the lack of regular public transport in Skopje, which supposedly forces us to rush around in our cars, as if the only choice were to take a city bus or break the law, to the idea that drivers will now stare obsessively at their speedometers instead of paying attention to road conditions, leading to more accidents. Technical flaws and legal loopholes will no doubt emerge. But let’s give ourselves a chance.

After so much boasting about various historic achievements in every imaginable field, the government now has a genuine chance to turn this project into a real historic success. But it will have to fine everyone, and I mean everyone, who commits a traffic offence, and do so without exception from 1 January 2026 onwards. If the Ministry of Internal Affairs starts to wavering, this chance to make our country the way we want it to be will fail as well.

We feel so deceived and let down by the state that the issue of trust in our institutions is always lurking in the back of our minds. There’s always the suspicion that the cameras will malfunction at the very moment they’re supposed to catch “one of ours”.

The government needs to ensure that its cameras don’t break down, so that we can finally stop going to protests demanding justice every time a pedestrian is are run over at a crossing or on the pavement and if we truly want to become the sort of country we admire when taking pictures for Instagram. It’s a matter of life or death. Literally. And figuratively.

3 Macedonia ranks third for gross domestic product (GDP) growth compared with countries in the region and the EU, with only Ireland and Denmark recording higher growth, says Minister of Finance Gordana Dimitrieska-Kochoska.

She cites data from the State Statistical Office, which show that real GDP grew by 3.8% in the third quarter of this year.

It’s lovely that the gross domestic product grew in the third quarter. But do you remember how, back in February this year, Minister Dimitrieska-Kochoska attacked MP Slavjanka Petrovska during a parliamentary session, saying she shouldn’t be asking parliamentary questions about the consumer basket because she doesn’t have children, while she herself complained that, as a mother of two sons, she wants to buy canned peas rather than the frozen ones sold in cheaper markets?

How much did canned peas cost in the first quarter, and how much do they cost now? Even the Minister of Finance, who was scraping by with frozen peas in the first quarter, can now indulge in canned peas in the third quarter.

The calculations from the Government’s press conferences and the calculations of the supermarkets don’t always align. Still, it must be admitted that we are dangerously close to Denmark. Ireland may continue to bask in its glory.

4 Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski was expected to attend an event but didn’t show up due to health issues. When we asked the Government what was wrong with the Prime Minister, we received the following answer: “Due to a brief disturbance in his general condition caused by seasonal factors that occasionally appear during this period, the Prime Minister was urged to take a short health break. The issue is not concerning, but the cautious institutional approach of health workers has required the postponement of the planned activities in order to ensure a quicker recovery.”

While Mickoski was in opposition, he had no problem posing for a photo in an operating theatre with the medical team just before a parliamentary vote, while having a small lump removed. But now that he’s Prime Minister, even the simplest statement about his health must be delivered in a robust, “historic” manner unlike anything we’ve seen in this country. Because Mickoski can’t possibly have a cold. He can’t have a runny nose. He can’t feel chilly, he can’t have a fever. A high temperature? Absolutely not! God forbid he catches the seasonal flu, because he’s clearly not vulnerable to viruses like the rest of us. And he can’t simply rest at home either, he must be “urged to take a short health break”.

Whatever. The Government announced that “the Prime Minister will resume his activities as soon as health circumstances allow it”. And so it was. Within a day his seasonal weakness had vanished, and the very next day Mickoski appeared at an event.

Mickoski may be Superman. But the people around him aren’t. What if he infects someone? What if someone else catches this disturbance of general condition caused by seasonal factors?

PR mustn’t suffer. PR can’t be allowed a rest, not even for a few days.

Translated by Nikola Gjelincheski