Attacking the government accusing her of attempting to abolish the second round of municipal elections for the benefit of “blue” candidates for mayors and regional governors. Harris Duke Emphasizing that “the choice is clear to this approach: Election with 50%+1”.
The Mayor of Athens, Harris Duke Speaking at the event of PASOK It has highlighted the key role “that municipalities and regions in the battle for the democratic reconstruction of the country can and should play.” “The change will start from below – from self -government which is the most direct and democratic link with the citizen,” Mr. Doukas stressed, insisting that: “The attempt to abolish the second round of municipal elections – where there were usually broader social alliances and progressives: Electoral tricks, excluding alliances and favoring its “own” candidates through blurry transactions first Sunday.
He then reminded PASOK’s rich and catalytic contribution to the foundation and empowerment of local government. “From the establishment of the elected prefecture (1994) to” Kapodistrias “and” Kallikratis “, PASOK has long supported institutional decentralization, building a framework for democratic participation and local development. “This is the measure of the story we need to confront today,” he argued and continued saying that this work is gradually deconstructed by the New Democracy government. “Municipalities operate with ΒΌ of staff, under constant Mnemonic restrictions, and lack institutionalized resources of around 5 billion euros a year. At the same time, new responsibilities are imposed without the transfer of corresponding resources and means. The result is “a deeply derogatory and hypocritical landscape”, where municipalities become scapegoats for state deficiency in flood protection, fire and other critical works, “Mr Doukas said, describing the new Code. “The new code that elaborates on the local authorities was described by Harry Duke as ‘dangerous for what he does and accountable for what he does not do’. It eliminates dynamic funding, transfers responsibilities without resources, while rejecting any serious reform such as digital accountability and participatory budget. Municipalities are limited to the role of manager of everyday life, for no real reason in development policy, “he said, concluding that:
“Throughout the world, cities are standing up to authoritarian forces. With mayors such as the Anne Hidalgo In Paris, the Phillippe Close In Brussels, the Ecrem immamogl in Constantinople and the Michelle Wu In Boston – examples showing that progressive change can and should be started by self -government. In Greece, victories in Athens and other major municipalities prove that society needs a strong, progressive voice at the base. “
Arnaoutakis: The lineup to fight united
The Regional Governor, Stavros Arnaoutakis He asked the government to leave the regions in order to become autonomous political areas for the establishment of regional development agreements and to translate European resources into a measurable work for citizens. Mr Arnaoutakis spoke of the need for participatory governance, referring in detail to PASOK’s timeless footprint in self -government and stressed that “the faction was born by society and is now called upon to fight the battle”.
-In his greeting at the event “We are enhancing the Self -Government -We begin the new change”, the Secretary of the Local Government, Costas Triantafylllos, By highlighting the problems faced today by local government bodies, he underlined: “Everyone and all we participate in in the Local Government Organizations of the first and second degree, we know the situation that the current government has formed,” noting the dilemmas that the local authorities have to face. He emphasized the need for “a progressive social majority” again, stressing that “we are now constituting the alternative progressive pole, not in the face of the elections, but in view of the suffocating problems facing each municipality and each region.”
For his part, the MP of State and KTE Head Interior of PASOK – Change Movement, Panagiotis Doudonis, He pointed out that “the preservation of PASOK’s forces in self -government – and in the most difficult times – meant precisely the maintenance of its root relationships in society. But this would not be possible without the faces – carriers of these roots. And these were self -governing friends. “
By criticizing the government, he said that he ‘gathered all responsibilities in Maximus Palace through the theory and act of the “Staff State”. It is trying and in some cases trying to concentrate the powers of local government organizations, unconstitutionally substituting their role. ”