When rumors started circulating about ELTA shutting down or merging branches across Greece, the Municipality of Agios Nikolaos did what any responsible local authority would do: it politely panicked. Mayor Manolis Menegakis has now stepped in with a heroic offer — to give ELTA a place to stay literally because nothing says “modern postal strategy” like municipalities donating emergency real estate to a state service older than everyone’s grandfather.
Menegakis announced that the municipality is willing to help secure “viable housing solutions” for the ELTA branches of Neapolis and Elounda, even if that means temporarily handing over a municipal building. Because when everything is collapsing, why not move the post office into City Hall? We have seen a stranger.
His intervention follows reports that ELTA is considering closures or mergers nationwide. This development comes as no surprise to anyone who has tried to pick up a parcel during peak hours.
The mayor, deeply concerned for the communities of Neapolis and Elounda, reminded everyone that:
“Post offices are a key service for everyday life, especially for vulnerable groups like the elderly, residents of remote areas, and small businesses.”
Translation:
If ELTA leaves, yiayia will not get her pension envelope, the shepherd will not get his electricity bill, and half the region’s mini-markets will be unable to ship a box of thyme honey to Germany.
Menegakis clarified that the municipality’s offer has nothing to do with commercial interests or competition in the postal market. Which is fair — nobody is trying to compete with ELTA’s legendary queue times.
The municipality will continue to engage with ELTA’s leadership and all relevant authorities, aiming to preserve the branches, services, and the last fragile threads of social cohesion held together by stamps, envelopes, and the nation’s collective nostalgia.
Because if there is one thing Greece refuses to give up, it is the right to complain about ELTA while simultaneously demanding its eternal existence.