Zoran Zaev told the press that he remains optimist Macedonia will be given a date to open accession talks in June or July, but if that doesn’t happen, he announced he is prepared to return his mandate or call early elections.

If the date is delayed, all options are on the table. One step would be to form a new Government, another – to hold elections, and the third would be to assume responsibility, although I don’t see any fault in us. We did everything we had to, Zaev said.

Now that the President is from his SDSM party, Zaev opened to possibility of simply returning the mandate and asking for it back, forming a new Government. He announced that he will purge his Government in June anyway.

But, given the brutal blow to his prestige with the ever more likely refusal of the European Union member states to allow “North Macedonia” to open accession talks, even after the imposed name change, makes it possible that Zaev’s Government won’t survive for long. Especially given the open fight between his main coalition partner DUI and the Albanian wing in SDSM led by Muhamed Zekiri, over the publication of wiretaps that involve DUI officials in criminal allegations.