Prime Minister Zoran Zaev announced that he will soon begin dismissing corrupt and incompetent officials from his Government, and already made the first move as Culture Minister Asaf Ademi resigned today. Zaev made his announcement of what he calls “operation broom” as the party suffered a humiliating drop in support in the presidential elections, compared to the 2017 municipal elections, and was forced to get nearly all other political parties to support its candidate Stevo Pendarovski to be able to beat opposition candidate Gordana Siljanovska – Davkova.

I intend to make certain changes, with some office holders, at the local and central level. I intend to do so because the party that has responsibility through its own bodies, but also the bodies of the state, to elect a Government and its representatives, to quickly make the changes because it is time to get to work. The state has a President, a wind in our backs and our anchors we all have and must make changes in some managing structures, of some officials who showed certain weaknesses, Zaev said today in his usual rambling style.

Meanwhile, the person actually managing the public administration, Minister Damjan Mancevski, clarified that the “broom” will affect mostly public employees who haven’t been going to work. This designation usually covers ethnic Albanian public sector employees hired under the “equal representation” clause from the 2001 Ohrid peace treaty. But, during his election rallies with his presidential candidate Stevo Pendarovski, Zaev announced purges along party lines, threatening public sector employees his party suspects of being VMRO-DPMNE supporters.

It is absolutely up to the Prime Minister. What ever he decides, I absolutely support his decision, said Mancevski, who recently controversially supported the practice of hiring of SDSM and DUI party supporters and relatives of top officials in the public administration.