Macedonians were surprised yesterday to learn that SDSM party leader Zoran Zaev plans to take a vacation and to only engage in coalition talks after the national holiday of ilinden (August 2nd). Other parties are said they are eager to begin discussions and see if it is possible to create a stable coalition, but not Zaev.

For months Zaev demanded that elections take place as soon as possible, even as Macedonia suffered the worst spike in coronavirus deaths and infections in the region. Zaev wanted elections as early as June, and eventually agreed to a mid July date, far sooner than most citizens thought is safe. The opposition, on the other hand, demanded dates in August or September.

This resulted in a far lower turnout (51 percent), down by 15 points compared to the 2016 elections (66 percent). It was likely all part of Zaev’s plan, whose party believed that the less undecided and swing voters show up, the less punishment will he suffer for the imposed name change and the numerous corruption scandals. The true price of the elections will be known only later, as it is determined to what extent the voting contributed to spreading the virus which continues to kill between 5 and 10 people every day.

The need to form a new Government with a political mandate that would tackle the coronavirus was given as the main excuse by Zaev and his party when insisting on early elections. But the next Parliament is projected to be split down the middle, with no party having a clear shot at forming a Government. And after all the talk of urgency, Zaev announced a long vacation lasting into August.