Yannis Lagoudakos, the mayor of Perama, praised Attica Regional Governor Nikos Hardalias in blunt terms, calling him "brash, edgy, abrupt, but effective" in a comment posted beneath a recent update from Hardalias about his visit to the facilities of the European Public Law Organization.
Lagoudakos wrote that a mantle of successful interventions and dynamism blows over Attica soil, and that this is Nikos Hardalias, before adding the more vivid description of the governor as brash, nervous and abrupt, yet effective.
Praise for straight talk
The mayor focused mainly on a trait he has repeatedly credited publicly to Hardalias: effectiveness and plain speaking. He said this is what Greece's political life demands, a disarming, honest answer, can it be done, yes, can it not, no. He also criticised what he called ineffective promise-makers who, he said, tell people what they want to hear rather than what needs to be done for results to follow.
The comment was not the first time Lagoudakos has spoken warmly in public about Hardalias. It follows a series of statements from the mayor about cooperation between the Attica Region and the Municipality of Perama, particularly on projects that had been outstanding for years.
Three long-delayed projects
In March 2025, during an on-site inspection by Hardalias in Perama, Lagoudakos described the Attica Region as a pillar in improving residents' daily lives and health, and thanked the governor for his interest in the city. That visit centred on three major projects: a primary healthcare facility in the Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Zone, completion of a nursery and infant care centre in Ano Perama, and an upgrade of the Pantelis Antoniou municipal football stadium.
Perama is a port town on the Attica coast near Piraeus, long associated with Greece's shipbuilding and ship repair industry. Hardalias, a former deputy minister for civil protection, serves as Attica's regional governor.
On the Agia Paraskevi nursery, a project left unfinished for roughly two decades, Lagoudakos returned to the subject in December 2025, crediting Hardalias with what he called decisive assistance. Completion of the project, budgeted at 913,242 euros, is being carried out through the region's development body, Nea Metropolitiki Attiki A.E. Last May, at the signing of a 262,175-euro programme contract for new lighting at the Pantelis Antoniou stadium, the mayor again thanked Hardalias, saying the governor had proceeded with the funding in keeping with his commitment.
Fire near fuel tanks renews old demand
Cooperation between the two sides also extended to a long-standing local demand for an emergency escape route out of Perama, an issue that returned to the spotlight after a fire broke out in an open area near petroleum storage tanks in the area last January.
Within less than a week of the fire, Hardalias made an emergency visit to the area and, together with Lagoudakos, inspected the point where Georgiou Papandreou Street, which runs through Ano Perama, meets Andrea Papandreou Street. The inspection led to plans for an additional traffic exit toward Schisto Avenue. The region had already completed the technical study needed to modify the existing junction and install traffic signals, addressing a request that, according to the municipality, had remained unresolved for about 20 years.
At the time, Lagoudakos said the governor had responded immediately and visited them after the frightening fire, thanking Hardalias for his prompt response to an issue that primarily concerns residents' safety and the city's ability to be evacuated in an emergency.
A pattern of public praise
The mayor's repeated public references reflect the importance he places on cooperation with the Attica Region, and in particular on the follow-through on commitments for projects affecting Perama. This time, Lagoudakos chose to sum it up in his own characteristic style, without diplomatic hedging: brash, nervous, abrupt, but effective.
