President Stevo Pendarovski continues to call for a thorough investigation in the growing racketeering scandals, even as Prime Minister Zoran Zaev insists that the arrest of Katica Janeva and her two accomplices are enough to call it a day.

Security in the rule of law is a pre-condition for banking stability, for the business, it is linked with the emigration of our youth… Even though positive steps were undertaken since 2016, we can’t say that we have standards comparable to those of the Western European countries. The latest scandals put the rule of law to a test. We need to respond as a system, not through individual politicians. This is now a test about whether there is interference from businessmen, from politicians into the judiciary. We need to see this case to the ed, and show that even when high level interests, people with money, people who held high office such as the Special Prosecutor, are involved, the judiciary can respond. If not, we will not be able to persuade the citizens that the rule of law applies to all, Pendarovski said during a meeting with representatives from the Macedonian Banking Association.

This is not the first time that Pendarovski has sounded more eager to grapple with the racketeering scandal than Prime Minister Zaev.