LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT IN GREECE

Following a historic overview of the development of Greek local self-government after gaining independence from the Ottoman Empire, the author analyses recent reforms at the end of the 20(th) and the beginning of the 21(st) centuries. A comprehensive territorial reform was completed in 1999. There are two tiers of local self-government units, and regions as statistical units with certain additional competences. The first tier consists of municipalities and communes, and the second of prefectures. The reform of Greek local self-government has shown that abolition of small local units does not have to mean their complete disappearance, but that they can be turned into a form of citizens' participation in local governance and thus keep their former territorial identity. Moreover, it has become obvious that a territorial reform without a reform of local units' financial resources does not lead to any changes in their financial capacity and does not widen the scope of public affairs they perform. Thus, a territorial reform is not a decentralisation measure in itself. Furthermore, it is clear from the Greek example that even the institution of directly elected mayors does not necessarily mean a progress in democratisation - it is practically impossible to win the elections for a mayor or a prefect in Greece without the support of large national political parties.