Chumps of the week

This week’s prize goes to the European Commission who nominated Larnaca as one of the top ten cities in Europe for the EU Mobility Week Award, the CM reports.

These Eurocrats have obviously never been to Larnaca.

“The European Mobility Week Award scheme rewards the local authority deemed to have done the most to raise public awareness of sustainable mobility issues and implement measures to achieve a shift towards sustainable urban transport,” the Commission tells us, in Eurospeak. 

In Larnaca?  AHAHAHAHAHA.  

According to the CM, the aim is to create an environment "friendly to alternative mobility” i.e. encouraging the use of public transport, cycling and walking. 

(Pass me the tissues, I am crying with laughter.)

Lefteris Embedoklis of Larnaca town hall said: “The aim of these events is to reduce the use of motor vehicles and minimise emissions.”

A campaign which has worked like a dream at Phinikoudes, with a daily bottleneck of cars slow-cruising along the double-parked seafront road, doing their “peripato” (drive & stare).  

Skaliotes are well known for their love of walking and cycling.  In fact, nobody drives.  

Parking in Larnaca is never a problem, nonono.

And all Cypriots are big public transport fans, as in recent protests against new bus fares. 

An independent panel of EU “transport experts” assesses applications from local authorities and shortlists 10 European cities every year which they think have done well on mobility issues.  The other 9 candidates this year were: Bologna (Italy), Budapest (Hungary), Gdynia (Poland), Hudiksvall (Sweden), Labin (Croatia), Ljubljana (Slovenia), Östersund (Sweden), Sofia (Bulgaria) and Turku (Finland).

Hats off to whoever submitted the application from the Larnaca municipality - he/she must have outstanding BS skills.  Or the Bruxellois bureaucrats will believe any old rubbish as long as they are seen to be doing their politically correct, EU-sensitive job. 

What the CM didn't mention is that Larnaca is not among the 3 finalists.  The award will go to Hungary, Slovenia or Sweden instead.  

It's a bit like the Eurovision Song Contest, but this is for public mobility.  Larnaca:  nul points. 

Any other bright ideas for fund raising, Mr. Mayor Andreas Louroujatis?

Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but they that deal faithfully please him.

- Book of Proverbs 12:22 (DR)