Greek Opposition Submits Censure Motion on Fatal Train Crash

Socialist Pasok party leader Nikos Androulakis said the censure motion would “give a breather to the political system that’s being led to disrepair.” Three other left-of-center opposition parties supported the motion.

“Every censure motion is obviously welcome,” Mitsotakis said. It’s always an opportunity to speak about everything, to present our work and explain to citizens what our plan is for the country, the premier added. 

The move follows major protests across the country and abroad last week on the two year-mark of a deadly collision between a passenger train and a freight train that left 57 people dead, many of them university students. 

The nationwide demonstrations were Greece’s largest public mobilization in over a decade and drew people from across the political spectrum, with the crash being perceived as emblematic of chronic issues plaguing the country’s rail infrastructure.

Mitsotakis’s center-right New Democracy party has a majority in parliament and is widely expected to survive the censure motion. Still, the ramifications of the deadly crash continue to bedevil his government, fueling wider discontent over the state of the country’s railway system as well as judicial delays.

The censure motion comes less than a week after the release of a report from Greece’s National Agency for Investigation of Aviation and Rail Accidents and Traffic Safety, or HARSIA, which explained the reasons for the crash and said it may have been exacerbated by flammable material that was not officially registered on the freight train.

While the report didn’t identify any attempt by the government to cover up evidence, it painted a picture of a rail network under major strain and said that many questions regarding the disaster will remain unanswered, as evidence critical for a full inquiry had been damaged during the post-crash cleanup to the point that it couldn’t be used.

On Friday night, the result of the vote will show how solid New Democracy’s parliamentary group is, Mitsotakis said. 

(Updates with official submission of motion and Prime Minister’s response throughout.)

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