The proposal to nominate Artan Grubi from the DUI party as Deputy Prime Minister who would have veto power over all major decision made by Prime Minister Zoran Zaev may require new constitutional amendments.

DUI gave up on its key request – that it gets an ethnic Albanian named as Prime Minister, but in exchange it got not only some very powerful departments, such as finance and foreign affairs, but also a new role for Grubi, a de-facto ethnic veto over executive decision making. One issue – there is no such position provided in the Constituion.

This means that Zaev will be bound by Grubi. This combination of a Prime Minister with a Deputy Prime Minister governing with dual signatures, with consensus, is not part of our Constitution, or of any law we have, says law professor Tanja Karakamiseva.

Zaev amended the Constitution to impose a humiliating name change on Macedonia, as well as to adopt a scandalous law that would protect him from deeper criminal investigations. According to professor Karakamiseva, it’s not possible to create such a powerful position for Grubi without another intrusion into the Constitution. Under the coalition agreement, SDSM and DUI would have at best 62 seats, if the small DPA party joins them, far below the 81 votes needed to amend the Constitution.