Rena Dourou’s victory in the largest electoral region of the country is SYRIZA’s final rehearsal for when, or if, they come into power.

This “power simulation” will seemingly include everything. From managing and “spreading around” of at least 2.5 billion euros in projects, to her mandatory cooperation with the strongest entrepreneurs in the country on that which concerns construction and waste management. Names of businessmen that carry a lot of weight, such as Bobolas, Peristeris, Mitilinaios, Ioannou, Kopelouzos and Kokkalos, who are the ad hoc candidates of planned endeavours. The new prefect will be called upon to show if she can handle the abovementioned individuals the way SYRIZA has declared: adamantly against every form of powerful interest. She will be called upon to prove if she can handle her position as prefect and if she is able to cooperate with mayors and ministers who do not come from the political Left-wing. It is her own self-appointed challenge as well as the one for the party she represents (SYRIZA) since her pre-election statements were boisterous.

This political “game” is very competitive and Mrs. Dourou seems to enjoy it without any form of inhibition. Her advent in the largest electoral region in the country will, in time, be opening up a virtual Pandora’s Box for her, a view which is reinforced by her celebration speech on election day, May 25th, where she announced that “tomorrow marks the beginning of a battle against interests”.  Such a statement obviously marks the tone and style of the changes she wishes to bring about, which thrived in her Left-wing ideology throughout her tenure as opposition party member and MP: against large privatizations and waste disposal interests within Attica. Unfortunately for her, he battle with waste management contractors is only the beginning. The portfolio of the infrastructure management of the prefecture will have to be handled forthwith. From the NSRF alone (2014-2020), Attica will have to manage funds, which when combined with public spending, will reach 2.5 billion euros. Wastewater and sewage treatment projects, urban regeneration, flood proection works, regional road construction works, social infrastructure are all things for which she will have to cooperate with  and sign along with all the “powerful interests” she has already condemned in her pre-election speeches. The companies she will be facing are well-established and powerful, with strong connections to Mass Media (some of which she has worked for in the past as an editor), thousands of employees, and ties to the Middle East and the Balkans.