Greek government to face no-confidence vote over 2023 deadly train crash

Days after protesters demanded political accountability, the government’s opposition parties in Greece have moved to a no-confidence vote against it.

On Friday, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of the nation to demand justice for the victims of the crash. The disaster claimed the lives of 57 people, mainly students.

The socialist PASOK party’s leader, Nikos Androulakis, claimed on Wednesday that the motion was filed because of the government’s “criminal incompetence.”

Syriza, New Left, and Course of Freedom were the only left-wing organizations that backed the decision. On Friday, there will be a vote.

It would threaten the country’s political stability, according to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, whose government currently holds 156 of the 300 seats in parliament.

In this uncertain environment, Mitsotakis told the legislature, “I have an obligation to keep the country steady and safe.”

He claimed that the opposition was spreading “storms of misinformation.”

According to Mitsotakis, “there never was a cover-up,” referring to the claims as a “colourful collection of myths, fantasies, and lies.”

A freight train traveling from Athens to Thessaloniki collided with a train near Larissa on February 28, 2023, causing a rail accident.

Without sounding an alarm, the two trains had traveled miles on the same track toward one another. The accident was caused by human error and malfunctioning equipment.

Opposition parties claimed that Greece’s railways were underfunded and accident-prone because the government had ignored repeated warnings and signs.

The government has also been criticized by the relatives of the crash victims for failing to launch or support an investigation into political responsibility.

The Air and Rail Accident Investigation Authority (HARISA) reported last week that chronic safety issues that needed to be fixed to stop the crash from occurring again.

Parliament approved on Tuesday to launch an investigation into whether senior official Christos Triantopoulos, who arrived at the scene of the accident after the accident, was responsible for the site’s bulldozing, which resulted in the destruction of significant evidence.

Triantopoulos, who resigned on Tuesday, denied any of the allegations and claimed to be in charge of helping people.

Opponents in the country claim that the government tried to conceal evidence despite the government refuting these claims. However, opinion polls indicate that the majority of Greeks believe this.