The political confrontation regarding the statements of the Minister of Labor, Adonis Georgiadis, in relation to the tragedy in Tempi and the wiretapping, was transferred today to the Plenary of the Parliament.

At the start of today’s meetingwhich is the subject of the legislative project, PASOK’s parliamentary representative Michalis Katrinis asked for the floor and asked Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis for the political disapproval of Mr. Georgiadis’ statements.

Michalis Katrinis was answered by the parliamentary representative of the ND Kostas Tsiaras who noted that “the government is taking the necessary initiatives, in order to institutionally shield the future reality of the country, but above all to prevent the recurrence of such tragic phenomena”.

“On the occasion of yesterday’s public position of Mr. Georgiadis, I want to say that it was an unprecedented public position that does not fall within the limits of an arrogant behavior or a regime mentality, of a government official. It is a cynical display of inhumanity and political wretchedness. Why can Mr. Georgiadis consider that political evaluation is made in terms of television ratings or can he invest in a society of low expectations and say that “no one cares about the wiretapping case”, but we assure him that it is of interest to many of our fellow citizens, it is too many of the institutional functionaries, justice functionaries and of course heads of independent authorities that function as guardians of the rights of the institutions and freedoms. We, when in this room, moved Mr. Pikramenos, we reacted unlike others. But we didn’t see some others reacting when Mr. Rammos was moved, because both were being pushed by systems of power.” said the PASOK parliamentary representative.

“Also, what can one say about Mr. Georgiadis’ statement that no one cares about whether an investigative or pre-investigative committee will be set up for the Tempe tragedy”, continued Michalis Katrinis and added: “We tell him that he is interested in the relatives of the 57 innocent victims of this unprecedented tragedy, he is interested in all those who are heartbroken every day, because they put their own children in the place of the people who perished and are insecure about whether they will find themselves in a similar position. Why, unfortunately, some people did not take care, through their criminal irresponsibility, to ensure safety in transportation and in everyday life and why some react because government agents refuse to take responsibility and do everything they can to cover up the responsibility for this unprecedented tragedy . So if it is the government’s perception that it does not benefit anyone, the fact that two trains collide head-on, Ms57 of our fellow human beings are lost, then the concept of responsibility has been definitively lost and with it the shame”.

In this climate, Michalis Katrinis underlined that verbal condemnation and disapproval are no longer sufficient, but political disapproval is required. “You know very well, the prime minister also knows that in any other country in the world, this unacceptable statement would have led to the removal of the person who uttered it. If some people think that 41% washes away the objective terrible responsibilities of those who led to an unprecedented tragedy, then the words lose their value,” said Mr. Katrinis.

ND parliamentary representative Kostas Tsiaras, responding to Mr. Katrinis, said: “I really do not understand the disposition of the PASOK parliamentary representative, every time, to highlight issues that have indeed concerned us, are indeed in an investigation process, especially by the judiciary , for which the government has taken many initiatives, at different times.” Mr. Tsiaras also added: “Both the reference to the former deputy prime minister, which I think makes us all understand that we are talking about completely different cases, as well as the reference to the tragic accident in Tempe, I think we all have on the one hand, it makes us think, to launch developments concerning the Greek state itself, but above all to let the justice function undivided, through its own role. No one is claiming that even if there have been an election – the election has been mediated for political reasons and that is clear – yet even if there have been an election, none of us is claiming that all these issues will not come to an end, as far as their investigation, and the government will not take all necessary measures to prevent them from happening again.”

“These, he said Mr. Tsiaras, are issues that have shocked us all. However, we must be honest with ourselves. Issues and issues from the past may emerge, it is our obligation to deal with them. If we want to start this confrontation that can place blame on anyone in the past, it might be very easy to do so but we will not end up anywhere and above all we will not initiate all those developments that we are obliged, as a modern Greek state, to initiate , the next period. The government has proven it, that is why its own presence was confirmed by the electorate in the recent elections, it has proven that it not only does not sweep all these issues under the carpet, but also undertakes the necessary initiatives in order to institutionally to shield the future reality of the country, but above all to prevent the recurrence of such tragic phenomena”, said the ND parliamentary representative.