President Stevo Pendarovski condemned Prime Minister Zoran Zaev for his shocking statement, when he referred to Bojan Jovanovski – Boki 13, the main suspect (so far) in the major racketeering case, as a “faggot”.

That is an unseemly statement which used language that can insult entire categories of our citizens and in that sense I think that it’s good that the Prime Minister apologized the same day to those who may have felt insulted. I have also had slipped up from time to time and have been criticized for a statement or a turn of phrase. But that is how it should be. That is how we become a serious democracy and none of us should be nervous or angry if the public sees things that way, Pendarovski said.

Zaev’s statement was also seen as a threat aimed at journalist Branko Geroski, who reported on the scandal.

Pendarovski earlier urged a more serious approach to the investigation into the scandal revolving around Boki 13, Special Prosecutor Katica Janeva and, allegedly, top SDSM party officials. This has created the perception of a rift between him one one side and Zaev and Deputy Prime Minister Radmila Sekerinska on the other, who are both named by Boki 13 in the secretly recorded audio tapes where he extorts 1.5 million EUR from businessman Jordan Orce Kamcev.