A comparison of local management of regeneration in England and Greece

Purpose – Explores comparisons between the English and Greek local government systems, in the hope of offering some fresh insights into the regeneration and management of local areas. Design/methodology/approach – Discusses the issue of local political leadership at a time when changes in local political management arrangements are taking place in many European countries. Findings – The English and Greek experiments with developing local self‐government provide some reassurance and some causes for concern but, above all, they demonstrate that in, unitary states, Ministers and Civil Servants at the centre find withdrawing from interference in local affairs a very hard exercise in self‐denial. Originality/value – Illustrates the problems facing two centralised countries struggling with varying but limited success to cope with various public management issues raised by local devolution and decentralisation.