At this time, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is sitting in the plenary session of the Parliament on the motion of no confidence against the governmentsubmitted by the president of PASOK-KINAL, Nikos Androulakis.“I come to today’s debate considering the tragedy of Tempe as an issue much bigger than a simple reason to submit a motion of no confidence against the government. I will talk more about the truth surrounding this accident. My references to political issues will be less. I stand with respect and humility towards the memory of the people we lost and their families. Only they have the right to make their grief a protest. They can also do injustice to the State”, said Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

The prime minister addressed everyone as prime minister, as a citizen, as a father. “I want you to listen to me not only with the heart but also with the mind. We have not been able to march into a united tomorrow with fewer shadows like those that lead citizens to close their ears and not believe anyone and anything. That’s why I apologized on behalf of everyone. Without ever believing that there are Greeks who mourn more than others”, he noted.

Mr. Mitsotakis said that his political opponents chose an attitude that no one imagined in other tragedies. “They wanted to make pandemic suffering their party banner, to turn society’s pain into a tool to beat the government, me personally. I wonder, I remember on the anniversary, in the first year, when you dressed Koumoundourou in black. We could have done the same in 2019 but we didn’t. This is our big difference of this line up with yours. I’m always here. I was placed many times. I was only absent from one meeting as I always did in similar proceedings, but also because the parties cannot have the say on the case but only the independent judiciary”, he stressed.

“Political Powers Turned into Merchants of Pain – Time to Dispel Some of the Myths”

“Some astute people took care to cast the seed of doubt on justice. Political forces turned into merchants of pain. And all this walking on a double, but blind road. You have boldly introduced into your propaganda the vocabulary of other times. The time has come to dispel some of the myths”, said the Prime Minister.

“I recognize that in front of me, I am addressing a society that is suspicious and angry. I undertake to tell the truth”, he noted.

“Let’s start with the misleading publication of Vima. All discussions were at the disposal of the authorities from the beginning. I was listening to you, Mr. Famelle, and that night was coming back to my mind. Others tried to hide at other times. I saw the most horrible thing I have ever seen in my life. You say that it was my care and thought to provoke these dialogues. Aren’t you ashamed to say these things? That was the concern… how will I disrupt the dialogues?”, continued Mr. Mitsotakis.

You did not make a motion of no confidence about the wiretapping and the rule of law, I have not understood if you were also in agreement as Mr. Pappas says. All of this is done in the service of one and only goal “that Mitsotakis fall” with the popular verdict fresh. By your behavior, extremes and vocabulary you are trampling on national mourning and obstructing Justice. What has this discussion contributed?

“Let’s see the distortion you are trying to make. What the article means and you adopted is that somehow it is not the station master’s fault. I ask, this man is in custody by order of justice, because it is not disputed that there were 7 violations of the safety regulation and a human hand sent the train on the wrong track. Is there even one in here who believes that if the stationmaster had done his job properly the accident would have happened? So why are you questioning something that justice itself has judged to have most likely happened?” he added.

“Let’s go to the other monstrosity. We hastened, he says, consciously to spoil the ground. Why should we do this? To cover up, I wonder, what exactly is with the baczoma? When you know those of you who traffic in these abominations, that the concern of the crews was to raise the wagons so that we could find people underneath. That’s what the rescuers cared about. You have hidden the fact that the infamous xylene theories, that the train blew up, and the government was quick to cover them up. Such monstrosities”, he underlined.

Mr. Mitsotakis mentioned that there is one expert and the rest are artificial advisors. “I look you in the eye and tell you that no cover-up order was ever given. But I’m telling you the truth and you can’t dispute this truth,” he stressed.

I am addressing everyone as a citizen, as a prime minister, as a father, I want you to listen to me with your heart and mind. The shouts and mutual accusations lead the citizens to close their ears and not believe anyone or anything. In Tempi, our homeland collided head-on with its evil self. On the fateful night timeless gaps of the state met with human error. He accused the opposition of instrumentalizing and politicalizing the tragedy.

We did not talk as much as we should about the tragedy and its causes, Mr. Mitsotakis acknowledged. But political forces, he said, have turned into merchants of pain.

I recognize that in front of me I am addressing a society suspicious and angry. I undertake to tell the truth as I perceive it and to be judged for what I say. Were not all the discussions of the station masters at the disposal of the investigative authorities from the beginning? asked Mr. Mitsotakis.

We rushed, he says, consciously to screw up and that it was a government decision, to cover up I wonder what exactly with screwing up. At that moment the crew’s concern was to lift the wagons to find who was underneath. The splicing was done on the passenger side of the train, not the commercial side.

Are you ashamed to imply that my first thought was to tease the dialogues? Aren’t you ashamed? That was my concern, how do I tease the dialogues?

I look you in the eye and tell you the truth that no order was ever given. I am telling you the truth, and you cannot dispute it. The accusations are completely unfounded.

The contract was signed in 717 was signed in 2014 and should have been completed in 2016, Mr. Spirtzis as minister gave six extensions and you broke it into two pieces, a contract with too many problems. The minister would either cancel the contract, or go ahead with its completion. The decision, and rightly so, was to complete the 717.

Justice has never moved faster from the case of Tempes, contrary to other cases. Let’s not talk about other cases. You voted against a provision for the investigator to listen to the audios, and you say that we are preventing the Justice from doing its job.

The competence of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office is limited to matters affecting the finances of the EU, to the funds of the 717 convention. What does it mean for a public prosecutor to intervene in an open case?

Are you talking about rule of law? Mr. Polakis was saying to put someone in prison no matter how. And you talk about the rule of law?

Did we ever ask for the then Minister of Digital Policy to be criminally charged for 112 regarding the Eye that was not ready? And you laugh, Mr. Pappa…

The Patras – Pyrgos contract, which Mr. Spirtzis cut into pieces for the pastures and is a carniola, do we say that he has criminal responsibilities?

In 2007, I was a newly elected Member of Parliament, together with very few other colleagues, I submitted a proposal to change Article 86 so that there is no risk of statute of limitations. With our constitutional revision, we changed the statute of limitations and it went to 20 years. So we cannot go behind any statute of limitations. We did that, you didn’t.

Mr. Androulakis, listen, don’t look at your cell phone, you won’t talk again, you won’t need anyone to give you directions.

Regarding the publication of Vimas, he mentioned to the opposition that someone suspicious would tell you that you were activated before the publication.

Today the Greek government submitted a text to the European Parliament responding to its inaccuracies.

He cited an article by Nikos Alivizatos about the conquests of the post-colonial period, characterizing Nikos Androulakis as naive and unhistorical.
Let the 20-day soldier, Mr. Kasselakis, stop the ahistorical nonsense about international observers.

Our Republic is celebrating 50 years of free and fair elections and the smooth transition of power. This acquis was not questioned neither in ’89-90 nor in ‘2000 to question it now, who is Mr. Kasselakis? He is just a coward, I don’t know if he is worse than a subversive of the state. Every day he unleashes a different slur, probably trying to build up an immunity to stupidity.

Mr. Androulakis changes his party to “green SYRIZA”, you will achieve the inimitable feat of being the third party behind Mr. Kasselakis, this will be a success.

Your identification with the particular group about non-state for-profit universities, as you said, was perfectly aligned. I will not co-govern with any paracentrist at the helm of the country.

The European elections are not suitable for indifference and dead-end protest, he said. Citizens will send their own message in the European elections to those who do not hesitate not to destabilize the government, but ultimately the country.