(Athens) The Greek opposition on Sunday accused the government, which it threatened with a motion of censure, of having manipulated evidence to influence public opinion regarding the train disaster which left 57 dead in February 2023.
Citing an article in the Sunday press, the three center-left and left-wing parties claimed that the government had “handed over” modified transcripts of railway staff recordings to media outlets favorable to it. Objective, according to eu: to accredit the version according to which human error had been at the origin of the collision between a passenger train and a goods convoy, the deadliest in history in Greece.
“There is only one solution: a motion of censure,” Nikos Androulakis, leader of the socialist PASOK party, said in a statement.
Syriza, the main opposition party, called on Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to resign, and the small left-wing party Nea Aristera announced it would support the no-confidence motion.
On February 28, 2023, before midnight, a passenger train carrying 350 people collided with a freight train near a tunnel near Larissa (center) some 300 km north of Athens.
The Sunday magazine To Vima said Sunday that recordings of train personnel on the night of the accident, broadcast at the time by the media, had been altered to make it appear that only human error was to blame.
Mr. Mitsotakis had said that “everything” showed that the accident was caused by “human error” while the investigation was ongoing.
On Sunday, the government said the article was “unfounded” and said it was prepared to face a motion of censure.
“This base attempt will fail,” declared government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis.
The government can count on an absolute majority of 158 deputies out of 300 in parliament.
Opposition parties expressed anger last week after a four-month parliamentary inquiry ended without holding senior politicians accountable.
More than 30 railroad employees and officials face charges, with trial expected in June.
The Greek railway network, 2,552 km long, has suffered for decades from poor management, dilapidated obsolete equipment and poor maintenance.