Kaminis stakes claim to capital
One of the leading hopefuls for mayor of Athens, Giorgos Kaminis, presented his team of candidates for the municipal council yesterday and accused current mayor Nikitas Kaklamanis of allowing the capital to enter «a state of decay.» Kaminis, who quit his job as ombudsman to run in the local elections on November 7, said that he wants to put an end to the current regime’s «indifference, inaction and mismanagement.» «We want to fight for a civilized city that is open to its citizens and to visitors,» he said. «What they are offering today is an anachronism: apathy, misery, old-style party political pettiness and the stuffiness of a small town in the 1960s countryside.» The former law professor announced that respected architect Alexandros Tombazis, who has been working on the regeneration of Pedion tou Areos park, will be on his election ticket. «He is a man whose rich body of work has helped our appreciation of the city and its relation to the environment,» said Kaminis. «He has agreed to put this knowledge and experience at the disposal of our common effort.» Kaminis is backed by PASOK and Democratic Left but has been trailing Kaklamanis in the opinion polls. Either candidate would need more than 50 percent of the vote to win outright on November 7. Otherwise, a runoff between the two leading candidates will take place a week later.
