Deputy Prime Minister Ljupco Nikolovski informed the public yesterday that the Food and Veterinary Agency seized 4.5 tons of German produced butter that was past its expiration date. Nikolovski is a Zaev loyalist tasked with fighting high level corruption after the regime provoked rare international scrutiny for its long list of corruption scandals.

Protection of our citizens comes first. I call for a full investigation and accountability!, Nikolovski said in a social media message.

The enthusiasm with which he announced the routine seizure of butter was widely mocked, as it comes at a time of major corruption scandals – one of them involving the vital procurement of coronavirus vaccines. “Seize some bread and lettuce and we can have a sandwich”, social media users joked about Nikolovski’s announcement.

Nikolovski began his latest anti-corruption push, prompted by an exceptionally bad Transparency International report on Macedonia, by announcing that a minor local official was removed from office in Bitola. This was followed by the spectacular escape of former security chief Saso Mijalkov, which was likely coordinated with the Zaev regime and the revelation that China will not deliver vaccines to Macedonia after Healthcare Minister Venko Filipce tried to insert a shell company from American Samoa into the deal.