Fifteen minutes were all devoted to the major issue of local government reform in the long meeting of political leaders with the President of the Republic at the Presidential Palace. And yet it was enough to clear the landscape on two key issues.
*First, the issue of postponing the municipal elections was put off the agenda and perspective, since at the relevant urging of the President there was a very clear reaction from the majority of the parties that were present at the meeting at that time.
*Second, a positive mood for a 2,5-year term for the local mayors who will emerge from the December ballots was evident.
*Thirdly, there does not seem to be a negative outlook on the government 's desire for local government reform bills to be discussed and approved before the December elections.
President Anastasiadis asked that what he said about the Local Government should not be considered a presidential intervention. He appealed to the leaders of the parliamentary parties, citing the experience he carries behind him, to postpone the December municipal elections in order to give priority to the reform of the Local Self-Government. Addressing his interlocutors, in the presence of Ministers Haris Georgiadis and Iona Nikolaou, he urged everyone to delve into the issue of reform before the elections, expressing reservations about whether the approval of the relevant bills after the elections will be possible.
The Government favors the reduction of municipalities to 22, as proposed by the study of Italian experts that had been called by the Association of Municipalities and this should be done gradually. This position seems to find consensus and parties. The Citizens' Alliance suggested that a substantiated study be prepared on this. For the number of municipalities that will be reduced and the road map.
The parties' final intentions for both part-time elections and the passage of bills before December will be made clear at a meeting of the parliamentary committee on Home Affairs, which has been working on them.
Source: Liberal