ND, SYRIZA trade accusations in wake of Mati revelations

SYRIZA opposition has accused the conservative government of seeking to exploit revelations over the weekend about the deadly wildfires in the seaside town of Mati east of Athens in July 2018 for political advantage.

“[New Democracy] is once again trying to exploit the tragedy in Mati in order to promote its political agenda of lies and mudslinging,” SYRIZA said in a statement on Sunday.

The leftist party, which was in power at the time of the blaze, also rejected allegations that it tried to manipulate an investigation into the causes of the inferno and possible faults by officials in handling the disaster.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis had earlier said that the SYRIZA administration had made an “obvious coverup attempt”

He said that the investigation must get to the bottom of the case and those responsible for the disaster be held accountable for their actions.

“We owe this to the memory of the victims,” he said.

An extensive report in Kathimerini on Sunday presented evidence pointing to an effort by ZYRIZA government officials to cover up the gross mishandling of the incident.

The investigation into the immediate response by the authorities to the fires and their aftermath also turned up testimony indicating attempts to prevent the Greek Fire Service officer appointed by the First Instance Prosecutor’s office to look into the case, from doing his job.

More than 100 people died in the blaze, the deadliest Greek fire in recent history.