The ambitious plan to redraw administrative boundaries and overhaul local government, which is being met with much opposition throughout mainland Greece, is being welcomed with open arms by most municipalities in Crete.

In the government’s meetings with local officials concerning the plan, known as Kallikratis, there have been substantial objections, leading one mayor to go on hunger strike in protest.

Locally, however, municipality mayors are eating just fine, thank you, as they hold their own meetings to set up possible super municipalities in Crete.

It seems it is mostly officials affiliated to the opposition parties that are opposing Kallikratis, and their stance created more obstacles for the government at a time when it must also deal with tough austerity measures.

Although Kallikratis is not designed to be a cost-cutting exercise, it is estimated that it will save close to two billion euros and the merging of some local authorities will inevitably lead to job losses.

At a recent meeting of the Central Union of Municipalities and Communities of Greece (KEDKE), where mayors throughout the country had their say, it was finally decided to ask the government for more time for discussion, especially so that the issue of job cuts could be debated further.

Although it has many aspects, the main element to Kallikratis is the plan to do away with the 57 prefectures that currently span the country and replace them with 13 larger districts. Similarly, 1,034 municipalities will be whittled down to less than 370. In the Iraklion province there are currently 26 municipalities.

When all is said and done, it will be the ministry of interior, public administration and decentralization that will make the final decision.

“We from our side proposed perhaps the only Kallikratic union in the prefecture,” said Gouves Mayor Yiorgos Nikolakakis. “We tried to interpret justly the spirit of the idea behind the restructuring and that’s why we said we wanted a demos that would link the tourist municipalities of the northern seafront together with the inner villages in the hinterland of the Kastelli municipality, especially since Kastelli wanted to come in with us rather than going to the south.

“After our proposal, the ministry finally suggested two plans: Malia, Hersonissos, Gouves and Episkopi to form the municipality of ‘Heronisos’ with its seat at the old American base, and the municipality of ‘Pediada’, with the aforementioned four, plus Kastelli, and again with the seat at the base.”

When the two proposals were introduced at a recent Gouves town council meeting, the majority of its members voted for “Pediada.”  

“We hope this will be final,” Mayor Nikolakakis said.

In a last minute development, according to Malia Mayor Kostis Lagoudakis, the ministry decided not to pursue the ”Pediada” plan.

“Due to this change, the Malia municipality called an emergency meeting to discuss the issues, but it was ignored by Hersonissos, Gouves and Episkopi,” he claimed. “In light of that, the council voted unanimously to withdraw from the “Heronisos” plan and seek autonomy.” 

Meanwhile, N. Alikarnassos Mayor Vangelis Sisamakis is also pushing for his demos to remain autonomous and not be combined with any other municipalities.

“With the support of hundreds of local citizens and civic associations we are vying for an autonomous municipality and declaring a strong “no” to any plans of N. Alikarnassos being added to the Iraklion demos,” the mayor said emphatically, while pointing out the dynamics of the demos and stressing that the municipality has the possibilities to remain independent and contribute in the growth of the prefecture.

“The autonomy of the municipality is a fair demand as we meet all the rules and criteria imposed by the minister of interior,” he added. “This municipality can and will respond to the needs of its people in a developmental and social role, with administrative and economic independence. Our vast municipal real estate holdings constitute a prerequisite for a strong developmental course in the region.”

However, Yiannis Mihelogiannakis, an adviser to the Prefect, suggested that as an “alternative scenario,” N. Alikarnassos could be included in the new municipality Pediada, which would join it with Gouves.