Stojance Angelov, whose populist Dignity party is a minor member of Zaev’s coalition, said that he is surprised by Zaev’s resignation and how the Prime Minister made the local elections all about himself. Zaev resigned as SDSM leader and is expected to resign as Prime Minister after losing the local elections.

As coalition partner, I was surprised by the strategy, by the campaign and by how the local elections were elevated to the point of a referendum. Zoran Zaev was collateral damage to his wrongheaded tactic, when he made the mayoral race in Skopje a make or break race. There is no room for emotions in politics. The polls were wrong and the results were shocking. SDSM tried to lift up euphoria over the elections but I had different expectations, I knew that a large portion of the voters are dissatisfied with the Government, Angelov said in an interview.

He added that he still expects Zaev to add a new coalition partner – the Alternative party – that would restore the small SDSM led majority in Parliament and allow the Government to carry on.