Greek MP Michalis Katrinis condemns government’s local administration bill

During a plenary debate on the new Code of Local Administration, PASOK MP Michalis Katrinis accused the ruling New Democracy government of abandoning the decentralisation policy championed by PASOK and of turning municipalities into financially dependent entities. He claimed the draft law centralises control, removes powers from local authorities and forces them to find resources from taxpayers, labeling the changes a “Frankenstein system”.

Katrinis highlighted that in April 2026 the amount of overdue public funding to local governments rose by €60 million, and warned that the measures place municipalities under a regime of fiscal oversight while the government forgets to allocate needed resources. He urged a genuine reform based on a single, comprehensive code and warned that the “elite state” approach will be rejected by voters in the next elections.