Cvetin and Jason try to avoid Covid-19 mentions, and fail, but do chat a fair bit about the push for elections during the middle of the ongoing pandemic by Zoran Zaev and his SDSM party, and why the rush. They discuss the latest humiliations by Bulgaria (and almost come up with a replacement for their Farmer’s Picks – the Weekly Humiliation!) and the Government’s embrace of those humiliations and what this could mean, ultimately, for Macedonia (hint: its break-up). They wish each other a happy Star Wars Day and ruminate on who died on May 4 in history. And much more in this episode for the Macedonian Content Farmers Podcast!
Music by:
- Mizar (Pocesna strelba - Last salute)
- Vaska Ilieva (Koga padna na Pirina - When he fell on Mt. Pirin)
With gratitude to Mark Steyn for giving us the idea for the podcast name
The cold open: Three percent. The number was on Zoran Zaev's mind for the past few weeks. Healthcare Minister Venko Filipce told him that he ran the numbers five times and the result was always the same. The coronavirus is not that deadly to the general population, but on election day... Well. Older people are the ones who vote. Add to that the confined close quarters, the expected rush of voters in the early hours, all trying to beat the crowd, and the virus, and be the first to vote. Even with masks and asking people bring their own pens, the death rate among those who come to the polls will be at least three percent, Filipce said. And yet, in Zaev's mind it was clear - there is no other choice. Sure he could postpone the elections until September or even December, when they are supposed to be held anyway, but he might as well flee the country now if that's the case. By then, the economy will be in tatters, the few hundred millons he borrowed long spent and the Government would be due at least three salaries for the public sector and at least one months worth of pensions. No politician alive can be ased to go to the polls in such conditions. No. It was clear. The elections must take place now, June, July at the latest. That way he woul still have a chance. The money is still flowing, barely, and those who were fired are still in four or low five figures. The public sector is still paid ful freight even though odds of this going on for much longer are very slim. He would still lose, but not by much. Heck, with the Albanian partners, and their lax approach to election security he could even eek out a narrow win - if nobody objects too much to 99 perfcent turnout in Albanian villages. It's unlikely he would last a full second term, not that he would want that - ruling over a national collapse and economic ruin is not his thing - he was more into being lauded by the internationals in Davos and Munich as a visionary. But it would buy him a little more time to do what he was installed to do, and plan for his exit strategy. And that's surely worth the lives of 15.000 of his voters. That's it, Zaev decided. We're going to the polls.
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