VMRO-DPMNE official Antonio Milososki echoed the comments of many people across social media after the latest debate between the three presidential candidates, during which the ruling majority candidate Stevo Pendarovski seemed angry, anxious and disruptive.

I’ve known Stevo Pendarovski since 2000. We were spokesmen during the 2001 crisis, and I’ve debated him on TV for the past 15 years. I’ve never seen Stevo seem so nervous and tense as he was during the Sitel TV debate. Something is up. He knows best what it is, Milososki wrote on his social media accounts.

Pendarovski’s team quickly denied the report that in his confusion following the debate he tried to enter into the car of his main opponent, the opposition candidate Gordana Siljanovska – Davkova. Social media were flooded with videos of Pendarovski, his wild gesticulations and, by now, familiar facial tics. He was asked to behave after the debate, with former Culture Minister Ganka Samoilova Cvetanovska reminding him that both his opponents are intellectuals, and one of them is a lady.

Milososki has hinted that the unusual behavior could be due to unfavorable polls, even after both main ruling coalition parties, SDSM and DUI, joined forces in an unprecedented pre-election coalition. Another possible reason is the ever more apparent rejection of the Macedonian request to open EU accession talks in June. Besides NATO membership, it is first deliverable Macedonia expects after the humiliating name change, and the one that really matters to citizens who expect EU accession talks to translate in more investment and EU grants. But the SDSM – DUI coalition is beginning to acknowledge that it will not happen in June, or even this year, leaving them looking exceptionally naive and stood up by their European supporters in the eyes of the public.