Former high SDSM official Sofija Kunovska, who is critical of Zoran Zaev, sees his promise of intra-party purge after the presidential elections as just an attempt to obfuscate his own responsibility for the crime and corruption. After the dismal first round of elections when Zaev’s SDSM party and its DUI coalition partner lost 2/5 of the votes they had in 2017, he was theatrically given a broom by a supporter during one of his rallies and announced he will sweep out all the corrupt party officials.

Macedonia doesn’t need a broom. We need total disinfection, fumigation and pest control. Brooms only raise a cloud of dust, Kunovska wrote on her Facebook account.

Zaev initially announced he will purge several ministers and ordered several party officials who had relatives appointed to public office to have them resign. Soon, he changed tack and began interpreting his “operation broom” as a plan to purge perceived political opponents in the public administration, which he blames of sabotaging his agenda. At no point did the once pardoned and once acquitted corruption suspect mention his own responsibility for the high levels of crime and corruption in the country.