Kaminis bids for control of Athens
Independent candidate for mayor of Athens Giorgos Kaminis tried yesterday to appeal to undecided and stay-at-home voters by presenting a brief list of pledges, including the recording of all undocumented migrants’ details so they can receive social support and medical treatment, which he hopes will help give him an unexpected victory in the capital this coming Sunday. Kaminis, the former Ombudsman, did better than expected at the ballot box last Sunday, as he garnered 28.3 percent of the vote in his first ever participation in an election. Nevertheless, Kaminis still trailed incumbent Nikitas Kaklamanis, who picked up almost 35 percent. However, there is a glimmer of hope for Kaminis in the fact that most of the remaining votes went to leftist or independent candidates, whose supporters are unlikely to support Kaklamanis. Kaminis began yesterday by meeting with representatives of these groupings and indicated his belief that he could attract voters who are fed up with Kaklamanis and his team. «The nontransparent single-party model of administration that has led the city into a dead end has no future,» Kaminis said at a news conference. «In essence, it has disintegrated already, as was confirmed by the results in the first round of voting.» Kaminis presented what he termed «a package of measures for Athens» yesterday in a bid to get his message across to voters in the capital, 57 percent of whom did not vote in the first round. His agenda includes making wider use of the municipal police, better lighting, the introduction of 10,000 extra recycling bins and the creation of licensed open-air markets as a way of tackling illegal street trading.
