The tension in Karavas and the controversy surrounding the new drilling brought to the fore a deeper discussion about how local government works in Kythira. The municipal faction «Free Kythira» in its press release today (17/09/2025) denounces the way in which the municipal authority treats citizens, referring to the disregard for dialogue, administrative practices that are more reminiscent of central government than genuine local government, and a mayor who chooses to be absent from critical local issues.
PRESS RELEASE
Municipal Party Elefthera Kythira
KYTHIRA 17/09/2025
Democracy loses its meaning when the public administration does not recognize the people themselves as the supreme authority, as explicitly stipulated in the Constitution.
Today, Kythira once again experienced the rift between elected local government officials and citizens. And the question is inevitable: what is the role of municipalities? To function as a microcosm of central government or to be a genuine institution of local government? If their duty is the latter, why do they act like the former?;
How is it possible that the mayor of a town with 2,500 residents refuses to meet with an entire village that is asking for dialogue? The path that has been chosen is dangerous. The residents asked for the obvious: a study proving that the new drilling will not affect their stream. What could be more reasonable, when we have already seen the Fonissa stream dry up, losing its waterfalls?;
What could be more reasonable, when the Water Resources Plan of the Municipality of Kythira itself—drawn up by the current municipal administration—clearly warns of the need to limit reckless overpumping?;
However, instead of dialogue, responsibility is shifted to the citizens: «you should have taken legal action earlier.».
A management model that, instead of protecting the collective interest, leaves everyone on their own, facing a management that speaks in general terms about «studies» and «permits,» only to conclude with the uncertain «whether we find water or not.».
This is not administration, nor even rough management; it is gambling at the expense of citizens and the environment (as the deputy mayor for water supply himself publicly admitted).
Dear fellow citizens, this model must change. We do not need dependent mayors who operate in isolation from society, but municipal authorities that listen to its needs. Because when a municipal authority does not prioritize discussion with its citizens, how can a solution be found? Today it is the issue of drilling, tomorrow it will be tourism, the day after tomorrow it will be schools.
Only if the management model changes will dialogue be seen not as a threat but as an opportunity for creative and meaningful solutions.
Only then will the daily life of every citizen—with better roads, lighting, transportation, social services, culture, health, and education—become a real priority. Only then will the island's economy develop in a targeted and sustainable manner.
The goal is clear: a local government that belongs to its citizens and serves their interests, not the petty egos of modern dictators who rule hidden from the people, speaking only through their lawyers.
