1 The tragedy in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana, which on the first day of this year revived the unsettling images of our own tragedy in Kochani, mustn’t serve as an alibi for the government’s failure to act when laws and safety procedures should be strictly applied. It mustn’t be used an alibi to suggest that the tragedy in which 63 young people died in a fire while partying in a bar or nightclub can’t be blamed on our arrogance, corruption, and disregard for the law, on the grounds that such things happen even in a developed country like Switzerland, with its highly regulated laws and strict penalties for violators.

I’m not concerned about what Switzerland will do after this tragedy, in which 47 people have died and the number of victims is still rising. My concern is that our government hasn’t done anything so far to prevent the Kochani tragedy from happening again.

The trial is under way, those responsible will eventually be convicted, but I fear that there is simply no political will to permanently correct the mistakes that led to a series of tragedies in recent years due to corruption and a disregard for the law. A new year has arrived, we’ll soon mark the anniversary of the tragedy, and yet the government hasn’t lifted a finger to improve safety standards in public buildings and public spaces.

On 28 March, 2025, in this very column, I wrote: “The Government has a carte blanche if it truly wants to make a change. And it has the opportunity to set things right in one go, without having to justify itself to criminals for doing so”.

That was my wish then, and I would be very happy now if the government, which has a super-stable parliamentary majority, chose to use its power to introduce fundamental changes in the name of good governance. Instead of making excuses for its own mistakes and shifting the blame elsewhere, it should treat Kochani as an incentive for action. To change all the laws, regulations, and bylaws that have for years been tailored to ignore citizens’ rights and shield criminals, so that everything would seem to be done according to the law. And, most importantly – to implement those rules in practice, without exception.

Instead of good governance, what we see is anyone, anywhere, putting up carousels without permits, selling food and drinks without fiscal receipts, while the media spend days trying to establish which authority is competent to punish and remove illegally placed installations. We see makeshift, nylon-covered café terraces where people smoke, heated by gas heaters, where people are allowed to set off sparklers next to gas cylinders to lift the mood. When it comes to those legalised illegal hotel buildings where they keep adding illegal floors and terraces, we’ll start looking for the culprits only after a guest gets hurt. Instead of a bar owner shaking in fear of the state when an inspection shuts his place down, he tears off the seal and the ribbon and brazenly advertises that he will continue admitting guests to a New Year’s party…

There’s more. Feel free to continue the list yourselves. These are just a few details that come to mind at the moment.

And I had made up my mind not to burden myself with negative energy, at least over the holidays. What can you do? Switzerland is to blame for reminding us of Macedonia.

2 The government will show extreme irresponsibility if it clings blindly to the idea – as you can see, it could happen even in Switzerland.

And we, as citizens, will be very stupid if we fail to demand that the ruling coalition, which now holds absolute power not only at the central level but also across the municipalities, finally frees itself from a 30-year captivity to criminals, improvisers, muppets, and thugs.

If we, as citizens, aren’t firm with those we’ve elected to serve us, if we fear them as though we owe them something, rather than the other way round, for the votes we gave them, then the sacrifice of the 63 children who died in the Kochani nightclub will have been in vain.

And with that in mind, let us wish ourselves a happy and prosperous 2026.

Translated by Nikola Gjelincheski