Milena Apostolaki launched a fierce critique of the provisions of the new Local Government Code in her speech during the debate on the relevant bill in Parliament, arguing that behind the title of “codification” lies a deliberate government choice to strengthen centralization and control over local government.
The PASOK MP emphasized that the country needs a modern Code that will strengthen decentralization, proximity to citizens, and the genuine administrative and financial autonomy of municipalities and regions. On the contrary, she noted, the government is concluding a course of continuous interference in local government, constantly changing the rules governing its operation and representation. “This codification is a false pretext for promoting a model that is more centralized and less democratic,” she pointed out.
Referring to the provisions that concentrate even more powers in the hands of the mayor, she pointed out that a system is taking shape in which “almost everything revolves around the mayor.” At the same time, she criticized the provision that allows the head of a municipal political group to unilaterally decide on the expulsion of municipal council members, citing a deterioration of collective decision-making and a further concentration of power. “We are heading toward mayors with limited legitimacy and unlimited power,” the PASOK MP emphasized.
Placing particular emphasis on the new electoral system and the introduction of the alternative vote, Milena Apostolaki spoke of an “institutional distortion” that replaces a clear popular verdict with a mechanism of hypothetical choices.
As she noted, the government is abolishing the second round of local elections and replacing it with “an artificial, mathematical result that does not reflect the actual political will of the electorate.” She further emphasized that addressing voter abstention cannot be achieved by compromising fundamental democratic principles, as “abstention is a matter of trust in institutions and not of citizen fatigue.”
The PASOK MP also pointed out that the real problems facing local government remain unaddressed. “The country’s municipalities are not collapsing because there is no unified code. They are collapsing because they lack sufficient resources, because technical services are unable to meet the needs of local communities, and because small island and mountain municipalities remain neglected,” she said.
Concluding her speech, she emphasized that “Greece is one of the most centralized states in Europe,” and, contrasting this with PASOK’s vision for strong local communities and meaningful decentralization, she stressed that “without true decentralization, there can be no strong democracy, sustainable development, or future for the country.”