Dimitar Kovacevski will be a simple pawn of Zoran Zaev’s as leader of SDSM, says the opposition VMRO-DPMNE party, as Zaev is trying to elevate the little known Deputy Finance Minister as his successor.

Zaev is nominating as his heir the son of an SDSM official from the murky 1990ies period, an official of the Finance Ministry during a time when our public debt surpassed seven billion EUR and we face a spike in inflation. Zaev is preparing Kovacevski to continue his disastrous and criminal policies and to ensure that his family businesses are protected, the extortion of his brother Vice, the marijuana plantations run by his cousin Trajce and Zaev’s own criminal activities, VMRO-DPMNE said in a statement.

Zaev announced his resignation both as party leader and as Prime Minister after losing the local elections. He has since endorsed Kovacevski and will try to help him win the support of SDSM party members during the vote planned two weeks from now.