The possibility that, due to the three days of national mourning for the fatal shipwreck in Pylos, the issue of rescheduling the political leaders’ debate was raised, ERT was told Popi Tsapanidou: “If due to the national mourning such an issue is raised and an issue is raised, i.e. not to do it tomorrow, we in SYRIZA are prepared to change the president’s program, to postpone it, to do it, to do it on Sunday after the end of the three days. Be it on Sunday, be it on Monday, be it anyway in the next period as we go to the polls, I imagine all the parties will agree to a change in their leaders’ schedule so that the politicians leaders after the end of the national mourning, after we have first helped the people”.

Referring to the tragic shipwreck, the representative of SYRIZA stated that: “There is no person who has not been shocked by this tragedy that we are experiencing in the last hours. Today is truly unspeakable I have no words to describe it it’s a shock. It is as all evidence suggests, so far at least, one of the biggest refugee migrant tragedies. It’s unthinkable. Our thoughts are close to these people who are fighting to save souls, to the people who are in the hospital, to those who have been rescued. We always hope that more people will be saved, that they will come out of the sea. Since the morning, we have sent SYRIZA and an echelon, Mrs. Nouka and Mr. Haritsis. We have suspended all our pre-election events. We sympathize and I think that now the humanity of all of us should be seen. That is, to support”.

“We are telling SYRIZA to open safe passages, safe roads so that migration can take place in a specific context, to support the transit countries, the countries where these people end up, to make a fair distribution of them in the European Union. In other words, there should be a substantial European Union agreement that will solve the problem and not deal with it. Our thinking with as many people as possible to be saved. And above all, we must all agree. And we agree on this, that this bottom of the sea, the grave of these people, should not become… It is an unimaginable tragedy. We are shocked.”