Political turmoil in Macedonia as the Government rejects the request of the opposition VMRO-DPMNE party to convene a referendum on the Bulgarian demands. The request was rejected under a strange explanation - that the citizens can't vote on an international treaty. VMRO was hoping to leverage its opposition to the Bulgarian and to use the referendum, where it proposed a seemingly self-defeating question, to secure early elections. But the Government (and the internationals to whom this proposal was apparently made) did not bite. SDSM instead takes the initiative as it uses the tools at its disposal - bribes and threats of criminal prosecution - to wrest important mayors away from VMRO. After the Mayor of Skopje's Karpos district, now the main prize of the 2021 local elections - the Mayor of the city of Skopje Danela Arsovska, abruptly broke its relations with VMRO and turned on VMRO leader Mickoski. We discuss what is behind this. We also prepare to welcome the new governor of the country - as US Ambassador Kate Byrnes leaves and is to be replaced with an all too familiar face. Music by: - Mizar (Pocesna strelba - Last salute) With gratitude to Mark Steyn for giving us the idea for the podcast name