“What has been heard reaches the limit of ridiculousness. As a Regional Authority we do not compete and we do not divide anyone” emphasized the regional governor of Attica Nikos Hardalias, putting an end to the paraphilology that has been caused in recent days regarding the festive events for the change of time in the capital.

He adds, in his related interview with Alpha this morning, that the right to choose, whether in entertainment or anywhere else, is an element of Democracy. And that “with the mayor of Athens, Haris Doukas, I have an excellent cooperation and those who try to reproduce a logic of confrontation and division are doing a lot of harm”.

Mr. Hardalias said that “from the beginning I wanted to create a landmark for the Christmas holidays. And what place is more ideal for such a thing than Athens? I am very happy about the upgrade of the Field of Areos as well as the fact that in “Visiting Greece”, on the official website of the EOT, the visit to the Christmas Village that we have created in the Park has been included as a proposal for tourists. Anyone can visit it until January 6 with free entry for all. So I’m not competing with anyone. I am fighting for the right of the common family to be able to visit public places without paying, and this is very important, because children can do free face painting, take photos with Santa Claus for free, enjoy the band of ” Molyvenian Soldiers’, to play with the elves and also enjoy absolutely free wonderful children’s shows. At the same time, there are excellent concerts for every taste with free entry for everyone. We created a model Christmas Village, with European specifications and aesthetics, with sponsors covering 75% of its costs. In fact, all the activities for our little guests – which I repeat are free – are educational in nature. They touch on, for example, the issues of recycling, technology through robotics, energy conservation, but also water conservation. And this is because, we want our children through play, through entertainment, to be able to train and prepare for everything they will have to face in their adult lives.”

The regional governor emphasized that on the night of the change of time he will be with his family at the Field of Areos, where Christos Mastoras will sing with “Melisses”, Zaff and Onemanshow and that from the first moment it was planned to have a live connection with image and sound with Syntagma Square. “We’ll connect to Constitution, watch the countdown and continue. That is why as a Region, for the Christmas Village in the Field of Areos, we did not ask for television coverage from anywhere” he emphasized.

During the interview, reference was also made to a number of important initiatives that the Attica Region is taking to improve the daily life of the Basin. With regard to the crucial issue of anti-flood projects, Mr. Hardalias stated that there is now an integrated design. “We have prioritized every need, mapped every stream and secured funding for 54 major projects, which are already in the tendering phase. However, the effort is continuous and complex. Attica has infrastructure built for far fewer residents, and the effects of the climate crisis are pushing their endurance limits even more,” he noted. He reiterated that the solution for such critical issues is their metropolitan management and emphasized that the consultation with the central state is ongoing, in order to “run” within the four-year period the remaining 104 projects, in order – as he said – “to minimize as much as possible we can the danger to our fellow citizens and their properties”.

With special emphasis, he also spoke about the “My Soul” initiative, a campaign of the Attica Region that focuses on dealing with depression. “We designed an action that separates the needs of men, women and teenagers, because mental health cannot be treated horizontally. I lived from the first moment in the post-covid period and I know – like everyone – how our daily life has changed. We didn’t want to do something piecemeal,” he explained.

The campaign includes informative spots, educational programs for workers in social structures and awareness-raising actions in large municipalities of Attica. At the same time, it aims at parameters related to modern everyday life, such as bullying and dependence on social media. “Depression is not taboo. It’s not a stigma. We need to speak up and ask for help. It saves lives”, pointed out Mr. Hardalias, adding that the “My Soul” program will be a “pilot” for a series of other targeted actions that will follow, in the next period, for issues such as school bullying and children’s relationship with the excessive use of mobile phones or of social media.

Finally, speaking in a more personal tone about the health adventure he went through during his tenure as Deputy Minister of Civil Protection, the regional governor of Attica emphasized: “I think that I have been under pressure all my life. But especially the years of Civil Protection, it was a difficult period, during which we were called to face successive crises. To be honest, I don’t know if I follow the crises or the crises follow me, however it is certain that at the center of every crisis I was there, I tried to be useful. And that’s what matters every time. At the end of each route, to have offered. Gaining the satisfaction of having been effective for your fellow citizens. This is what we do in the Attica Region every day.”