At the recent KEDE conference in Rhodes, Pári Koukouloúplos, a PASOK-KINAL MP from Kozani and the first elected president of KEDE (1999-2007), was honored for his contributions to local governance. In his address, he advocated for local autonomy, emphasizing the need for three major changes: tax decentralization, energy democracy with local government inclusion, and a reinstatement of welfare state structures at the municipal level. Koukouloúplos underscored the importance of local governments as equal partners with the central state in shaping the nation’s future.