‘Being mayor is not a step up the ladder to the premiership’
A day after the official announcement of her candidacy for Athens mayor by the New Democracy party president, Costas Karamanlis, Dora Bakoyianni talked to Kathimerini about her reasons for seeking the candidacy. She believes that European politics are no longer exercised centrally and she admits being drawn by the challenge of being the first female mayor of a major Greek city. «Athens is one of the greatest political challenges of the coming years. Not only because of the 2004 Olympics, but above all over the next four years, irrespective of the Games, major political decisions need to be taken regarding the city’s future, whether it is to change its image and be reborn or whether it will be left to its fate,» she said. TÔ those who accuse her of trying to use the post of mayor to drum up support for her political goals, she replies that she has no need of a city hall in order to build her name. «I believe that I can offer Athens a great deal, to help it become a more modern and human city for us and our children. I hope that the time has come, for the first time in the city’s history, for a woman to take the post, a woman with a vision and a plan for the city’s future, someone determined to produce results,» said Bakoyianni. «Contemporary politics in Europe is no longer being exercised purely at the traditional, central level, but at a regional level and within the major municipalities.» Don’t you think you could do much more from within a New Democracy government? I am a militant politician, having fought tough battles and paid a high price in the service of my country and party. Now, within the framework of local government, we have decided to send out a new message that a new, powerful model of government is possible in Greece. Instead of using state agencies as mechanisms for imposing partisan interests, political authority can show it cares about people and their problems and give priority to their needs and goals. Your critics have accused you of using Athens to further your political ambitions. We all know that I don’t need Athens in order to build a name for myself, nor do I need to use political mechanisms. I received the most votes in the first Athens constituency in the last parliamentary elections and I am known, at least among the press, to have a powerful position in my party. Being mayor does not lead to the premiership, but to producing work that can change Athenians’ lives. Many Athenians believe that I see the post of mayor as a step backward. However, everyone agrees that it provides opportunities to produce work. Will you see the term through to the end if elected? I made that clear last June, again in an interview with Kathimerini. For me the issue is closed. Ruling party heading for defeat Do you believe that the current political climate, the clash between the ruling PASOK and ND parties and revelations of corruption, will affect the municipal elections? I believe that the country has entered an extended election campaign and undoubtedly that will affect the municipal elections and subsequent developments. (Prime Minister Costas) Simitis has lost the political advantage. He has lost the ability to impose real policy and to advance the changes that Greece needs now that it has entered the eurozone. Look at the way he is dealing with social security reform; through half-measures that are no more than an attempt to leave it to the next government to find a solution. It appears the government is now only weighing the political costs and functioning according to petty partisan interests. A spirit of «defeat management» prevails. It is clear that the ruling party will lose the next elections. Do you believe that the local election results will lead to broader political developments? In local elections, citizens vote according to the interests of their local areas. They decide who is the best person for mayor for the next four years. That is the crucial issue. Citizens are not judging the government or its policy, but they are judging platforms, political choices, behavior and perceptions. But let us not be deceived. When polling booths are set up around the country, they also produce political messages that cannot and should not be ignored. How can that be, given the importance of the elections in allowing the parties to make an impression? I emphasized this before. A person’s party origins and ideology are one thing and the quality of the struggle, which should be beyond pettiness or meanness, is quite another. That is why, last Friday, I took a political initiative, calling on all my fellow candidates for the Municipality of Athens to agree to the conditions and framework for a true and an effective election campaign. My proposal is that we should focus on dialogue, based on real solutions, arguments, proposals and positions. Let’s not just play the game of making impressions. I have therefore proposed a framework of principles for the campaign, principles that will respect the citizen, avert noise pollution and generally environmental pollution, and raise the quality of the political competition. That is why I believe campaign finances should be monitored, with a limit on expenditure, so as not to waste resources in an outrageous manner.
