The Mayor of Athens, Kostas Bakoyannis, very aptly pointed out the golden opportunity that the citizens had to understand the difference in the policies of the mayoral candidates with the telefight, which he proposed in his honor, and which undoubtedly succeeded in its goal. So, while we were used to telefights that were superficial and trivial, this telefight, excellently organized by the journalists in charge, gave us the opportunity to search for the essence. And the protagonists, however, had the qualities of dignity and political thinking, and the willingness to exchange opinions, even if they did not agree with each other. The Mayor, of course, constantly repeated his satisfaction with the agreement with his opponent Haris Doukas, but he also kindly clarified that they did not cooperate in what the Mayor presented as his project, but he himself is in the position of the opponent for the claim of office of the mayor, in order to develop his own plans, which he is ready to carry out without delay.
Both of them "telecombated" with excessive communication skills, Mayor K. Bakoyiannis with his significant self-governing experience and X. Doukas with the knowledge and experience of the university professor of Energy Policy and Management. The topics of the dialogue were composed with special attention to the key issues that a mayor should face: The operation of city, about which both admitted that Athens had become an unfortified city, the green in the city, which they agreed is necessary, but its success will be ensured by a different design for each, as well as the insurance necessary for both, but again with different interventions on their part. Furthermore, the two opponents had different views on dealing with climate change, the required infrastructure as well as social policy and culture. Finally, regarding the municipal tax related to properties on Airbnb, they agreed on the need to impose it, but Ch. Doukas set the overall study of the issue as a prerequisite.
I will limit myself to only a few points of the above issues, which highlight the policy differences of the two candidates. The "big walk" with the expansion of the University, for which the Mayor admitted with complete honesty his mistakes, his opponent considers that it must be repaired, in order to restore the smoothness and comfort of traffic in the area. He, moreover, emphasized the need not to close roads without a prior study. Security cameras, which have been decided by the Mayor, are not considered by his opponent as a priority as other measures that need to be taken, such as an adequate municipal police.. Moreover, there was a fundamental difference in the policy of the two candidates in terms of the will citizens for the creation of new projects important in their area. The Mayor claimed that, although their opinion was asked, they did not want to come to an agreement, in fact reacting strongly to every project, and his experience taught him that nothing can be achieved in this way. His opponent claimed that the dialogue with the citizens and their acceptance is a necessary condition for the realization of any new project, and this of course depends on the way of approaching the citizens and on their understanding of the usefulness of each project.
In conclusion, the debate was very valuable, both candidates, who presented their plans, were equally worthy. K. Bakoyannis, of course, served as mayor, his work is well known and has already been judged by the citizens. X. Doukas has not been tested, but he promised with a convincing manner, determination, knowledge and analysis of his design that he will correct many of the wrong writings in the city of Athens. The debate was important, because for the first time it had the right content and led the citizens to reflect on the politics of the candidates. It was indeed a "golden opportunity" and this proved to be the case. Moreover, from the telefight, for the first time in municipal elections, a candidate as competent and suitable for the position of Mayor as X. Doukas, who actually worked on his candidacy for a short time, emerged. And his participation in the Municipality of Athens is of particular importance for the lives of its residents. Sufferings, it seems, can become lessons and Athens can change. However, only the citizens can decide this, which is why their participation is necessary next Sunday.
