The SYRIZA Kythera Group is back in the political confrontation with Mayor Efstratios Harhalakis, accusing him of contradictions, authoritarianism and party disguise. The occasion was his recent statement on the fires of 2017, which -as the organization of Kythera points out- directly contradicts the public reports of the same Mayor the day after the disaster. The press release follows.
«Warm thanks to Mr. Harhalakis»...
On 9 August 2017 (as soon as the fire had been extinguished) the Mayor Mr.«all those who supported our island in every way, both with personal presence such as the minister k.Apostolou, the vice-regional governor k.Chatziperos, the deputy k.Gennia» etc. In the same communication it noted that «the contribution of the Region of Attica was also significant with the dispatch of water trucks from Athens. Throughout the incident, the Mayor's communication with the responsible Minister Mr. Tosca, the Deputy Minister of Island Policy Mr. Santorinio, the Regional Governor Ms. Dourou and the Deputy Regional Governor Mr. Hadjipero was continuous.».
The same Mayor in a statement at dawn on 2let August 2025 claims (referring to the 2017 fire) that «the only person who visited us at that time was the Minister of Agriculture, Mr E. Apostolou, who was on holiday in Neapolis and said he would pop over to the island to meet his beloved firefighter-parliamentarian».
In the same statement, Mr. Harhalakis notes that in 2017 «our Municipality received only 180.000€ as state funding for the fire! Most of this amount was used to pay for the meals of the firefighters.». Except that in his 2017 letter he noted that «the feeding of the nearly 250 firefighters was undertaken jointly by the Municipality and the Domestic Estate»…!
Really, when was Mr. Harhalakis telling the truth, then or now?;
We will counter the authoritarian-azionic style of the letter which overflows with the «ego» of the Mayor. But we cannot ignore the fact that the Mayor Mr. Harhalakis more obviously than any other time decided to «dress» as a party leader of the Southwest. It is understandable if his next goal is a position in Brussels or another position paid for by the public purse. Temporarily, however, he is Mayor and it would be good if he were to put the interests of Kythera and Antikythera first and not his anti-opposition fury.
We will not follow him. In the recent press release of the Kythera SYRIZA PS OM Kythera supported the local government and asked for specific measures for the development of our islands. It would be good to hear his view on this. Does he agree or disagree with the proposed measures?;
It would also be good to to make public the study by the team of Professor Efthymis Lekkas, Professor of Geology who (as he notes in his letter in 2017) «prepared the relevant studies after the catastrophic fire of Neapolis in 2015 and which will undertake a programmatic contract for the preparation of the relevant studies for Kythera». We would all like to know what exactly the team of Mr. Lekkas proposed and what was implemented from what was proposed... Unless the failure to implement the proposals of Mr. Lekkas is again the fault of SYRIZA and the opposition factions in the Municipality of Kythera!
It would also be good to to release the Fire Department's conclusion on the 2017 fire.
Finally: the fact that the Mayor was absent from Kythera during both the fires of 2017 and 2025 was indeed a matter of luck...
But to talk about a cover-up (referring to the 2017 fire) by someone who supports the government of Mr Mitsotakis is beyond the pale. The government's applauders of the wiretaps, the Tempi, the OPEKEPE ought to be more careful. The applauders of the «crony» state, of opacity and direct awards (...) should not challenge us. We are well aware of the local power system...
Of course, we want to thank Mr.Harhalakis because with his statements and his behavior he achieved something that we (despite our efforts) had not managed: To convince the last democratic Kytherios and Antikytherios that this rotten system of power must be overthrown both at national and local level... The «frappes» and the «butchers» cannot decide for us!
