The surprising statement from the Justice Minister raised a question – what changed with regard to the Special Prosecutor Katica Janeva? It was only late March when Prime Minister Zoran Zaev insisted that he will not give up Janeva as Special Prosecutor. Her mass filing of politically driven charges cleared the way for Zaev to grab power, as she removed dozens of VMRO-DPMNE officials from the political scene using evidence which was clearly inadmissible in court.

But now, Justice Minister Renata Deskoska, who is also the chief negotiator for the ruling SDSM party in the talks that should decide the future of Janeva’s SPO office, says that anybody from the current team, or an outsider, could be named the next SPO. Deskoska has been negotiating the issue with the opposition VMRO-DPMNE party for months, with little progress being made, as SDSM refuses to give up on its chief tool of political repression. But, something apparently changed recently.

We don’t insist that Katica Janeva is the chief Special Prosecutor. In our talks with VMRO-DPMNE so far, we never mentioned Katica Janeva. It is not in our interest to discuss who will be the Special Prosecutor. It was never a matter of negotiation, Deskoska said in a TV interview. She added that SDSM is prepared to allow the Council of Prosecutors to appoint the next SPO.

In March, on the other hand, Zaev insisted that Janeva is the “symbol of the renewed hope in justice” and therefore must stay.

Absolutely not, Zaev said in an interview with MIA, when asked if he would give Janeva up. “That is an institutional matter, because, truly, Katica Janeva and her team of prosecutors and investigators worked in a very difficult time and thy were the speck of hope that we will return the rule of law, which we now see is returning in our country. I’m convinced that we must not send out a bad message to those who resisted, persevered and believed in the state, the system, the laws and the Constitution in the bad times”.

Janeva’s cases, meanwhile, are beginning to fall apart, while some of her high profile targets are making deals with Zaev in exchange for their votes. She faces allegations from her former supporters that wiretaps she is the guardian of are being used to blackmail businessmen. And she is yet to make a move against some of the SDSM officials, that would show that she is not politically biased. Zaev himself insisted that once made permanent, the SPO will go after those currently in office, but few people believe his word. The racketeering charges are especially harmful for Janeva, and Zaev acknowledged the “Kiki and Koki” case aimed against his party and himself provided information that helps identify the group of alleged blackmailers, which raised expectations that a fight will break out in the SDSM party that may turn poorly for the faction that most supports Janeva.

VMRO-DPMNE, meanwhile, insisted that Janeva can’t remain as head of the SPO.

Not only that the SPO didn’t meet the expectations that followed its founding, it completely failed them, and that is visible in the public polls. The citizens have a clear opinion about the SPO, they know whose tool it is and who it works for. They remain unconvinced in the personal and professional qualities of the person who runs the SPO, and who missed her opportunity to be the protector of law and justice, opposition leader Hristijan Mickoski said when talks about the new law on state prosecutors began in March.

Janeva herself was recently adamant that she will remain in her post. “They can’t replace me. The law doesn’t cover personnel decisions. We all know what can be written in a law, and if we are even literate we should know that names are not written into laws”, Janeva said.