The prefect of Athens, the only member of the leftist party in high office, plans to lead by example – with hard workWhen Rena Dourou assumed her duties as prefect of the Attica region, staff collectively held their breath. As the only member of Greece’s radical left Syriza party to be elected to high public office, the politician had promised a root-and-branch cleanup following her victory in local polls last May. Where would the combative 40-year-old begin? With the corruption that was endemic in the state sector, or the cronyism that for 40 years had oiled its wheels?“By example,” she says, pointedly reclining into a sofa at the end of a 12-hour day. “The first thing I wanted to show is my belief in the value of hard work. I didn’t get here because I thought all this should come to me. I have never known privilege, and that is the difference between us and them.” Continue reading...