In an article in thepresident.gr, the Mayor of Kythira, Efstratios Charhalakis, opposes the decision in the recent decision of the Third Chamber of the Council of State, which ruled unconstitutional the post-election changes brought by the government of the New Democracy, through the Theodoricakou Law, and which transfer responsibilities from the Municipal Councils on Financial Committees of municipalities.

Mr. Harhalakis talks about «invention» by SYRIZA of the system of simple proportional representation, in order for the then ruling party to balance its negative momentum - due to its political decline at the central level - with «a foothold in local government», which translated into «ungovernability and chaos at the local level», as he says.

The mayor of Kythera, insists on the non-unanimous decision of the CoE, for which he stresses that «it is not directly enforceable», so «the opposition comrades were probably in a hurry to rejoice». He foresees, in fact, a period of 3-4 years until the «provisions under consideration» (i.e. which the C Chamber of the CoE ruled unconstitutional by a majority vote) are replaced by a new law - in case the Opinion of the C Chamber is upheld by the plenary session of the CoE - during which time the Theodoricakou Law will continue to be in force. It prominently emphasises that ’a fundamental principle of Western civilisation’ is that «οLaws are enforced even if they are bad.».

Finally, it highlights the «pathogenesis» of the Greek political and educational system that favours individuality and which cannot be cured «with a law and an article» (referring to the simple proportional representation introduced by SYRIZA before the elections) but requires years of forming a culture of collectivity before it can be translated into legislation.

Here is the full statement of the Mayor of Kythera.

They invest in ungovernability and are desperately seeking a foothold in local communities.

With the provisions of Articles 2 (para. 4623/2019 and 10 par. 6(a) of Law No. 4625/2019, as well as Article 177 para. 3 of Law No. 4635/2019 were enacted by the Government of the New Democracy changes in the way the financial committee, the quality of life committee, as well as the Boards of municipal legal entities (D.E.Y.A. etc.) are constituted, in order for these bodies to have a majority of the Mayor's party. The reason for these urgent changes was clear and objective: with the system of «simple proportional representation», which was invented and introduced by SYRIZA in order to gain a foothold in Local Government (and while it already knew that it was blowing the horns at the central level), in 231 of the 332 Municipalities of the country (i.e. 2/3), the factions of the Mayors did not obtain a majority in the Municipal Councils (!), with the result that ungovernability and chaos at the local level is a given even before the effective implementation of the Law of simple proportional representation, i.e. 01-09-2019.

By Efstratios Harchalakis

Based on the recent Opinion (760/2022) of the Third Chamber of the CoE (it was not the first such provision, there are at least 2 others), it was considered (by a majority and not unanimously) that the above provisions on the basis of which the transfer of mainly financial competences from the Boards to the Municipal Finance Committee and the mandatory majority of the Mayor's party in the committees (Finance, Quality of Life, Municipalities, etc.) «violate the rights to vote and to stand for election, as well as the principles of the free and undistorted expression of the will of the people, as an expression of the principle of popular sovereignty, and the equality of conditions of electoral competition, in accordance with Articles 1 (para. 1 and 2), 4 (para 1), 5 (para 1), 51 (para 3), 52 and 102 (para 2) of the Constitution, given that both the voters and the elected municipal councillors had taken into account, for the formation of their electoral will, the provisions of Law No. 4555/2018 (articles 76 and 91), which provided for the formation of the aforementioned collective bodies without a corresponding regulation on the majority of the mayor's party.».

However, according to the opinion of the minority (altera pars) in the Third Chamber of the CoE «there is no violation of the above principles and rights, given that Law No. 4555/2018 did not provide for the direct nomination of the members of the financial committee, the quality of life committee and the boards of directors of these municipal legal entities by the electorate, but their indirect nomination by the municipal council. On the other hand, according to the same opinion, as regards in particular the financial committee and the quality of life committee, any unconstitutionality of the transfer of powers to them from the municipal council by Law No. 4623/2019 does not, however, affect the constitutionality of the contested provisions establishing the committees, but concerns the legality of the respective decisions of the committees in the exercise of the abovementioned delegated powers».

Based on the above, and after almost 10 years as Mayor and multiple times as a local government official, I assess the following:

1. The introduction of the simple proportional representation in Local Government A and B by SYRIZA with N.4555/2018 (Cleisthenes program) was a a conscious political act of deregulation of local communities as well as SYRIZA never had any serious support in the municipalities and in this way it attempted to acquire it. Compiled by opportunistic and heterogeneous municipal combinations nationwide, with the sole aim of being a buffer to the nationwide electoral defeat of SYRIZA, which everyone knew would come sooner or later.
2. The simple proportional representation in the way it was introduced by SYRIZA does not exist and is not applied in any state in the world. In no serious Western country is the elected Mayor prevented by such legal alchemy from implementing and realizing the program for which the citizens elected him. In vain, the local government officials asked the then Minister Panos Skourletis to indicate to them even one state of the civilized West where this system is in force in local elections. The Minister was «talking about other things» and constantly and indefinitely invoked «democracy».
3. The appeal to «Democracy» for the application of the (totally unworkable) simple proportional representation in the Municipalities and Regions was clearly proven pretextual. It is the easy answer for someone who has no serious and objective arguments. This is because we cannot talk about democracy and respect for the will of the people when the faction of a Mayor who was elected with 60 or 70% (no none importance if elected on 2η Sunday) is unable to pass even the simplest decision by the Board because the opposition factions are circumventing their donor majority for the sole purpose of a sterile opposition speech. And let no one say that this cannot be done. Because it is! The majority of the opposition is violating the rights obtained through the simple proportional representation simply to shout, to create impressions, to block the proposals and projects of the Mayors.. Anyone who denies that these things are happening is living in utopia. Of course there are opposition parties that do indeed act in a self-governing and developmental way, but unfortunately they are not the norm.
4. When a Mayor is elected, the citizens who elected him vote not only for the Mayor's person but also for the election programme that he and his faction presented. Since the Mayor is elected, the implementation of his party's programme is not only legitimate, but constitutionally and morally obligatory.. In short, no law, no simple proportional representation, no electoral system, no legislator, has the right to establish procedures that directly or indirectly lead to a deadlock and deadlock in the implementation of the municipal programmes approved by the citizens through the popular verdict.

The 760/2022 of the Third Chamber of the CoE is NOT a directly enforceable decision, but an Opinion referred to the Plenary of the CoE for a major final decision. It is a «Consensus opinion with an opposing minority» as stated on the website of the Supreme Court of Cassation and Justice. Therefore, the opposition comrades were probably too quick to rejoice. The Theodoricakos Law will continue to be applied normally until the CoE finally rules it unconstitutional (when and if this happens, the usual average time of judgement is 3-4 years) and of course until a new Law is issued changing the judged provisions. Laws are enforced even if they are bad, this has been a basic principle of Western legal culture since antiquity: dura lex sed lex.

The invocation of the possibility of broader consensus at the local level, as one of SYRIZA's ideological precepts for the simple proportional representation, collapses like a house of cards for one reason alone: the Greek political system remains extremely immature in terms of party or factional cooperation. Why? Yes, badly, but that's how it is. As a country we got our first coalition government only in 2011 (I forget 1989) which proved to be extremely fragile, when most countries in Europe were familiar with the practice of coalitions at least since the 1980s. The education system itself does not help in this direction either, as it rewards individuality and does nothing to foster a culture of teamwork and cooperation among students, who are tomorrow's leaders, politicians, administrators, etc. This pathogenesis, dear comrades of SYRIZA not cured «with a law and an article». First you create conditions and a culture of cooperation and then you legislate the simple proportional representation as an application of an already existing political culture. You have done the opposite, dismantling local government, leading large municipalities to complete ungovernability, with ordinary citizens being the final recipients of all these idealistic actions. For example what excuse can you find for the citizens of large or small municipalities who until today (April!) still do not have approved budgets because the Opposition blocks everything?; What do you have to say to the citizens of a municipality that elected a mayor with 60 or 70% on the basis of a specific programme, which he cannot implement because the opposition party that got 6% in the elections demands that its own proposals be included in the budget in order to vote for it?; Nice «democracy». Enjoy it.

Moreover, a characteristic of the abject failure of the simple proportional representation is that even the Mayors and local government officials who are pro-Syriza turned directly against this law when they saw it being implemented in practice, demanding substantial changes to restore normality in the Local Government.

In conclusion: self-government needs serious institutional protection. It is the most stable pillar of administration and the closest to the problems, needs and daily life of citizens.. It is the institution that has kept thousands of social structures standing through a long crisis, essentially supporting society itself. Citizens demand work, vision, action, improvement of infrastructure and quality of life. And to achieve all this it is obligatory and constitutionally required that the Municipal Authorities democratically elected by the citizens can unhindered take decisions, administer, implement the program rewarded by the popular will, without discounts, without under-the-table transactions, without bargaining, without idealism. The role of the opposition is to make proposals, to control, to contribute to the development process, but in no way to set the agenda «at will», which is an obligation and a democratic prerogative of those elected by the citizens to administer. That is what democracy is all about. Democracy that is real and not contrived.

Stratos Charhalakis