In high tones between the government and the opposition, the first meeting of the Production and Trade Committee of the Parliament was completed at the level of general and special rapporteurs of the parties, on the bill of the Ministry of Development and Food concerning support measures for relatives of the victims and those affected Tempe train crash. Also included in the bill are regulations to enhance transportation safety, provisions to enhance development, interventions to modernize tourism legislation and other provisions deemed by the government to be urgent.

At the heart of the disagreement of the rapporteurs of the opposition parties was the non-separation of the provisions concerning the support measures from the rest of the issues. As characteristically mentioned by the SYRIZA-PS rapporteur, Haris Mamoulakis, the government is “attempting to blackmail politically with the bill, putting Tempi as the frontline along with provisions of rusfetological services” such as those that promote the privatization of ports.

New Democracy

The general rapporteur of the ND, Maximos Senetakis, characterized the support measures “as the minimum that the State can do for the victims and their families” and emphasized that they are a moral obligation. As he pointed out, “the bill responds to the Prime Minister’s commitment to immediate and substantial measures, both for the support of the families of the victims and those affected, as well as for the safety of passengers and the railway network”.

“With the bill, a substantial start is made to regain the trust of the citizens, for the security of the citizens, which was built for so many years by the ND government and there is no doubt that it was affected by the tragic accident in Tempi”, noted Mr. Senetakis.

Afterwards, the ND rapporteur spoke about extraneous causes and failures that led to the accident, while stressing that for the government, the safety of means of transport and passengers is a top priority. “The tragedy in Tempe was a shock to all the political staff. The burden of the state’s responsibility for security is an inviolable condition. Society has not gotten over the shock. But at the same time, we cannot turn our backs or remain idle. We must act immediately to support those affected. Support measures are a moral obligation of the State and it is the least it can do for them. But it is a first reaction to the evil that was done, because at the same time the investigation of the causes and responsibilities of the accident continues, so that the whole truth shines, which is the request of the whole society”, he underlined.

Mr. Senetakis also emphasized the provisions concerning the modernization of the tourism legislation, with the aim, as he said, “to respond to the new international challenges and to maintain the momentum of the development of Greek tourism”.

“It is a comprehensive bill that introduces measures to strengthen development and investments, the smooth operation of the market, support for tourism and the modernization of ports, but it also has interventions for better functioning of cultural infrastructure and the strengthening of thermal springs,” he pointed out.

SYRIZA-PS

For his part, the general rapporteur of SYRIZA, Haris Mamoulakis, made it clear that his party will support all measures for the families of the victims and those affected by the “crime of Tempo”, however he accused the government of “trying to blackmail politically with the bill, putting Tempi as the front page, along with provisions for rusfetological services of interests”.

“It is a pivotal point for Mr. Mitsotakis to legislate with the logic of communication and not substance, while he knows that we are willing to vote for whatever provisions he brings to support the families of the victims of Tempi, however inadequate they may be. But he chooses to bring them together with rusfetological services. He wants to exploit such a sensitive issue, which is unacceptable and shameful. The government is acting in terms of political blackmail.

We will obviously support the measures to support the families but also the measures to strengthen security and speed up the procedures by justice for the causes of the accident and the assignment of responsibilities. But the rest of the provisions of the bill are a symptom of the tragic governance of Mr. Mitsotakis”, said the general rapporteur of SYRIZA.

Mr. Mamoulakis expressed his disagreement with the other regulations of the bill, speaking of “conscious ideological neoliberal policy of the government, which chooses to legislate with patches and with a managerial logic that has at its core, the discrediting of workers and the disregard for the needs of society”.

“You know that the Tempe accident is on your own backs, yet you try to cover your inadequacy with a sack of lies to ‘depoliticize’ the tragedy and share your responsibilities to discredit the entire political world,” he noted. He also argued that “the bill has strong elements of Rousfetological services and strong elements of entanglement and is against the will of society”, and added that “it promotes the privatization of ports by giving gifts to the investors it prefers”.

PASOK-KINAL

In favor of all support measures for the families of the victims and those affected by the Tempe accident, said the special buyer of PASOK-KINAL, Apostolos Panas.

“Obviously, the victims of this tragedy also need support. We will not be satisfied only with the necessary support measures for the relatives of the victims and those affected by the Tempe train accident. PASOK – Movement for Change, in addition to the answers it asks for, so that there is a fair attribution of responsibilities to everyone involved, wherever and whenever they come from, also asks for the assurance that the railways will operate safely, so that we never experience something like this again tragedy,” he said.

Regarding the rest of the provisions of the bill, Mr. Panas accused the government of “refusing to provide a clear and definitive solution for the professional rights of graduates of 5-year agricultural schools, deliberately inserting in the bill a regulation with poorly written and unclear text”. Furthermore, he also referred to the reactions of ESAMeA to the provisions of the bill that concern them, characterizing them as fair and stressing that “they violate the rights and dignity of people with disabilities in our country, as for the first time they are excluded from the composition of the board of directors of the National Public Health Organization by decision of the Minister of Health”.

“These decisions are reminiscent of times when people with disabilities had no say in their lives – and we ask for their withdrawal,” added Mr. Panas.

KKE

“Support measures cannot cover up Tempe’s crime. They do not convince the society that shouts ‘their profits are our life'”, emphasized the expert buyer of the KKE, Christos Katsiotis, attributing eternal responsibilities to the governments, which, as he said, “led to the privatization and disintegration of the railway network, to the non-existent measures security, the flexibility of labor relations and the devaluing of employees”.

“And this bill moves along the same lines that led to the Tempe crime. Safety is sacrificed on the altar of profit with privatization and underfunding of structures. The only way for security to exist is to stop entering the scale of profit, but to respond to the criterion of the current needs of society and not of business groups”, he stressed.

As Mr. Katsiotis argued, “the government, in derogation of the laws, facilitates strategic investors with sponsorships and state aid, new tax exemptions and reliefs”.

“You hand over natural water sources to large business groups, privatize the wealth of the country, impose fast track procedures for tourist investments, while without any prevention, without conditions and commitments, you open the way for the big monopolies to privatize the ports. All small gifts are given to the businessmen of culture, while at the same time you circumvent the rights of the artists, continuing the attack against them that began with the presidential decree”, said Mr. Katsiotis and concluded.

“The bill is subordinated to the needs of business groups and not society, and we vote against it on principle.”

Greek solution

The special buyer of the Hellenic Solution, Vassilis Viliardos, clarified that his party will vote in favor of the support measures for the families of the Tempe victims, even if they are incomplete, stressing, however, that “for the crime that caused a shock to the political system, no there is a real willingness to provide substantial solutions, and any announcements remained only in words.”

He also spoke of a “disappointing investigation into the causes and attribution of responsibility, with ND and SYRIZA blaming each other”. “Notions of political responsibility are treated with dangerous levity, even when lives are involved and all of this justifiably infuriates society,” he noted.

Mr. Viliardos also criticized the “housewife’s basket”, noting that “it was not a bad idea, but it overflowed to a comic-tragic point, it became the godfather’s basket, with Mr. Georgiadis as godfather. But the country’s economic indicators are going from bad to worse.”

ok Billiardos also accused the government of “talking about the need for direct investment and essentially meaning the sale of public infrastructure”, adding that “the collapse of the railway network was the tip of the iceberg”.

“Apparently, the purpose of the bill is to support the victims of the criminal accident with a state lawsuit. However, their support, whatever it may be today, does not mean that the responsibilities are taken over”, he stressed.

At the same time, he requested the cancellation of debts and loan obligations to funds and banks, noting that despite the relevant announcements and commitments of the government, such provisions do not exist in the bill.

Mr. Viliardos expressed objections to a series of provisions of the bill concerning investments, stressing that in essence it is a sell-off of the country’s public property and wealth, such as the privatization of ports, the exploitation of thermal springs and the facilitation of foreign and domestic investors in tourism .

Day25

Strongly critical of the policies implemented by the government, the expert buyer of MeRA25, Kriton Arsenis, appeared, accusing it of “perpetual crime with privatizations and discrediting of public infrastructure, which led to the loss of 57 human lives”.

“We have a government, which dares and brings shamelessly, a bill that rightly should have referred to relief measures for the victims, putting in front of them these crooked measures, with a series of privatizations, illegal legalizations and rusfetological provisions, which satisfy business interests”, he emphasized.

Mr. Arsenis described the measures of the bill as “deficient”, asking “that they apply without exceptions and without terms and conditions, for all the families of the victims and those affected”.

Mr. Arsenis spoke against the provision regarding the port of Igoumenitsa, arguing that “the entire land area of ​​Igoumenitsa is being handed over to a landowner for exploitation”, and added that “the government must stop the privatization of the ports in order not to repeat the crime of the Tempes”.

Mr. Arsenis also opposed the provision concerning the Skaramangas shipyards, while concluding by saying: “The government must stop privatizations and photographic provisions in favor of specific interests. It’s ‘never again’ time, and we’ll keep saying it, ‘never again’ until you get it. This bill hides extreme favors and big rusfetological pre-election campaigns”.