In a statement of nearly two thousand words, the mayor of Kythira, Efstratios Charchalakis, «laments» and labels the leader of the main opposition, Zacharias Souris, a populist, in response to the a strongly worded press release issued yesterday by the municipal coalition «All Together – Kythira – Antikythira». Read below:
The leaders of populism should take a look in the mirror and keep quiet… They’re making fools of themselves…
Good morning, everyone! Have a wonderful, healthy Sunday! It’s been a while since I’ve shared a Sunday post, and today I’ll be discussing populism, which is doing so much harm to our society.
I won’t refer to scholarly texts because some people might get confused. The high school sophomore textbook *Politics and Law* (published by OEDB, 2008, pp. 91–93) provides a fairly good description of the term. The populist politician deliberately poses various false dilemmas (e.g., why stick with SEAJETS and PORFYROUSSA when HELLENIC HIGHSPEED made the Piraeus–Kythira trip in 4 hours?) with the main goal of fostering feelings of insecurity among citizens, which results in the uncritical acceptance of his own «proposal» as the solution to the false dilemma he has posed.
In politics, there are generally two sides: the side of those who consciously choose the difficult path of truth and responsibility, and the side (usually the electoral losers) who see no easier path than that of populism and demagoguery. It is extremely rare for the latter to actually contribute positively to public discourse, with civility and creative arguments.
Let's look at all of this at the local level using a few examples from the past few months.
1. Ferry service. We addressed the Aqua Jewel incident with very specific actions that we have made public. When some people write publicly, «Find a solution, bring in a ferry,» that is not a proposal, but an end goal. We were delighted—it’s true—by the speed of HELLENIC HIGHSPEED, a speed unprecedented for our islands. We never, however, asked ourselves about the issues that would arise if such a ship were to be permanently added to our route: a) airfare-level ticket prices (a one-way ticket from Piraeus to Hydra on a comparable ship, with a travel time of just 1.50h, costs 40€), b) the inability to transport trucks (unless some believe that supplies will be delivered only from Neapolis or that we’ll have three ships on the route!), c) the clear risk of losing our greatest asset, which is the stability of the Naples–Kythira route, etc. I am not writing these arguments because I want things to remain stagnant, nor because I am opposed to progress, but as your Mayor, I have a duty to examine all sides of an issue and not be swayed by the emotions and enthusiasm of the moment. A populist conceals all of this. They don’t even bother with it. They also conceal the fact that 80% of these ships’ revenue (precisely because of their high fares) comes from foreign tourists (which is why most high-speed ferries do not operate during the winter) who are unconcerned about the cost of the ticket, particularly in the Cyclades and the Dodecanese, where there is the option of multiple visits to various islands (a cluster of tourist islands)—an option that doesn’t exist here. All of these are key points from an in-depth analysis that a populist would never provide you with.
2. Closure of public services. For a populist, whenever the post office or the bank closes, the mayor is always to blame—for failing to take up arms, go to so-and-so’s office, and say the familiar line «Do you know who I am?» In no serious country in the world, however, is a local authority held responsible for central government decisions and the choices of anonymous corporations. Of course, local authorities protest. But they DON’T make the decisions. This distinction will never be made public by a populist demagogue. The populist will tell you «If it were up to me, they wouldn’t be closing the post offices!» Come on, what are you talking about! Tell us how you’d do it, if you can! What exactly would you do? A protest? A revolution? A hunger strike? Under the recent law passed by the Ministry of Justice, the judicial status of the Magistrates« Courts is being abolished throughout Greece. It is a government decision whose effectiveness will be judged in the future. The Magistrates» Courts are being abolished; all magistrates are becoming trial judges, and part of their jurisdiction is being transferred directly to lawyers as a «transfer of judicial matters.» The populists will ask you the classic question: “What did Charhalakis do to keep the Magistrates’ Court from closing?” Well, of course, NOTHING! Because Magistrates’ Courts are being abolished everywhere. And since I don’t think we can ask for our own Regional Court of First Instance in Kythira with just two court sessions a year, we’ve managed to keep the transitional criminal court, which will continue to hold sessions two or three times a year as usual.
3. Populism is when you don’t vote in favor of your municipality’s twinning with other municipalities because you disagree with the meetings held in the suburbs (!) and thus become the reason people ask me «Why wasn’t the twinning decision unanimous»! Yes, this actually happened during the previous term (with the decisions regarding Kissamos, Alimos, and Symi) by the political faction that, in 2023, unanimously supported Mr. Souris! Kudos to the colleagues who came up with such a brilliant idea! I wonder if they feel proud that they’ve brought shame upon our municipality with their behavior?;
4. Populism is «posting» a photo of dug-up streets in Potamos at a time when crews are working day and night to repair water main breaks, just a short time after the municipality posted two press releases announcing the signing of new contracts for major projects (new water supply networks and the Agia Elessa road), apparently trying first and foremost to convince yourself that you’ve done something productive. For the record: a post by Mr. Zach. Souris on April 25, 2024. And unfortunately, this dangerous populism continued on Holy Thursday, when he inappropriately mocked the Fire Department’s intervention in Potamos, where they washed the dirt off the streets—and they were absolutely right to do so, as it was a matter of public safety. It is obvious that Mr. Souris would have preferred that the streets not be washed so that he could play the role of the opposition. We humbly apologize to him for shattering his myth…
5. Populism is demanding the standard advance payment, but to mock and belittle your community’s major projects, such as the Potamos Stadium, which is being upgraded after many years of stagnation, just as the entire local community had demanded. This was done by the local President, Mr. Alevizopoulos, in a public comment on Facebook on April 24, 2024, on the profile of our Municipal Councilor, Mr. Orestis Fatsas, where he wrote that he is not satisfied with «a project costing a few thousand euros»! For the record, the project’s cost is nearly 900,000€, so it seems that 900 thousand is a meager sum by Mr. Alevizopoulos’s standards… In any case, we’ll invite him to the opening and give him the floor!
6. Populism (and a MAJOR one at that) is to criticize a municipal government for a decline in population (!), when it’s well known that the demographic issue is a nationwide and pan-European problem that obviously isn’t the mayors’ fault! But that’s how it is—when you’re dazzled by public works projects, you’ve got to say something! At the very same time that you’re making a big fuss about the population decline (purely as a pretext), of course, you’re voting against allocating funds to the School Committees for the schools’ operating expenses! What hypocrisy!
7. Populism is gloating in coffee shops because the Municipality of Kythira (like dozens of other municipalities) is being audited by the competent authorities regarding the legality of its actions, as if this were the first time such a thing has happened (the General Accounting Office of the State audited our municipality at least four times between 1999 and 2014). Seriously, why exactly are they rejoicing and laughing sarcastically? Could it be that they know something about the anonymous complaints filed with dozens of authorities during the pre-election period (and, of course, those didn’t change the election results either)? I’ll answer them DIRECTLY: WE ARE OPEN TO ANY INVESTIGATION BY ANYONE! Because quite simply, WE HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE, NOTHING TO FEAR, NOTHING ILLEGAL OR WRONG! And since some people had the incredible audacity to even ask about these audits, let those very people answer—the ones who, «shaking in their boots,» rushed to meet the auditors, bringing along their henchmen for “help.” So let them tell us: WHAT did they say to the inspectors? Did they confirm the slander that has been poisoning the local community for the past three years? They have irreparably discredited themselves in the eyes of the people of Kythira and MUST publicly account for their stance and their choices. And above all, they must apologize because, as a result of these practices, our island—and especially the private sector and its professionals—has now become the target of constant audits, as if they were criminals or fraudsters. What a disgrace…
8. Populism is downplaying all the projects we’ve brought to our municipality over the past 10 years, because they undermine whatever narrative you might still have. Seriously, haven’t they learned anything from the election results? They said the same things before the election, and they DIDN’T convince the people of Kythira. THEY FAILED. And because «constructive opposition» is too much of a burden, they’re taking the easy way out: sarcasm, attempts to undermine our work, belittling our actions, and extreme populism to a degree unprecedented on our island. The longer they continue down this path, the more the people of Kythira will consign them to the dustbin of history alongside those who passed through public life and contributed absolutely nothing. For it has been proven time and again, after years and decades, that the people and history remember only those who accomplished great works and never those who criticized them or tried to stop them. Indeed, why are they silent about the major sewer system project that was contracted just a few days ago with the approval of the Court of Auditors? Where are all those so-called experts who wrote and spouted one piece of nonsense after another about this particular project? Have they gone into hiding? Where are those who, right up until the last minute, tried (unsuccessfully, of course) to cancel the contract?;
9. Mr. Souris’s complaints, which he makes «day in and day out» about issues that have ALREADY BEEN RESOLVED, are nothing but populism. I need only mention one example so that the people of Kythira know exactly who they gave 800 votes to: Mr. Souris filed a complaint with the Decentralized Administration and the National Transparency Authority against Matina Varda, a municipal councilor from our party (who has been a Special Advisor to the Mayor for the past 4 years), claiming (the «legal expert» Mr. Souris!) that she is in a conflict of interest! And all this while he KNEW and KNOWS that this conflict of interest has been lifted by law as of 2023 and that Ms. Varda to the Municipality (following her election) has been published in the Government Gazette as fully lawful! All this from Mr. Souris, who during the campaign promised new jobs and the return of young people to Kythira! Indeed! Of course, he got his comeuppance from the Decentralized Administration! The attached documents are irrefutable evidence! Seriously, doesn’t he have anything else to do besides sending so many complaints? He’s become a laughingstock and has been discredited throughout the entire local community…
Mr. Souris can make as many accusations as he wants, thereby proving that his only interest is in obstructing the work of the Municipal Authority, which —I’m reminding him of this because he’s trying to forget it—has been entrusted by the people of Kythira THREE consecutive times (contrary to the nonsense about «outgoing officials» that he was trumpeting before the election)! We suggest he calm down! Accept the election results! He should accept that the people of Kythira trust those they elected to manage the municipality’s affairs at least until December 31, 2028 (and we’ll see…). He needs to realize, even now, that his behavior is placing him on the wrong side of the public’s sentiments—a public that has no time for accusatory rhetoric or loud outbursts.
We will not dwell again on the level at which Mr. Souris chose (voluntarily or not—it doesn’t matter) to operate. We will respond to each of his accusations with our work. To each of his outbursts, with the trust of the citizens. To each of his slanders, with the full force of the law, because he has now crossed the line and will face the legal consequences for his boundless, accusatory audacity, which borders on slander, especially when he directly targets municipal employees.
Mr. Souris has NO right to harass the municipality’s six remaining administrative staff members with his ridiculous accusations!
He has NO right to disrupt the smooth operation of the service!
It has NO right to obstruct the implementation of the project and the program that the citizens APPROVED with their votes!
In any case, he would do well to accept one thing: no matter how many complaints he files, THE ELECTION RESULT WILL NOT CHANGE! OUR MAJORITY ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS WILL NOT CHANGE!
In the end, people remember (and reward) those who get things done, not those who criticize them—that, after all, was the resounding message of the 2023 elections!
Have a great Sunday! Good morning, everyone!
Good night, Mr. Suris...
