Opposition parties slam government over snowstorm response
Leading the chorus of derision regarding the state’s response, or lack thereof, to the snowstorm that paralyzed parts of the capital, leftist main opposition party SYRIZA has called for the government’s resignation.
In a statement on Wednesday, it called for the resignations of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Christos Stylianides, Transport Minister Kostas A. Karamanlis, Environment Minister Kostas Skrekas and government spokesman Giannis Oikonomou.
“There’s so many [ministers] it would leave [Prime Minister Kyriakos] Mitsotakis without a cabinet, so why don’t they all just leave together and give the country a break?” it said.
Backing the call, SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras said the “Mitsotakis government has cost the Greek people dearly” and “constantly creates insecurity and fear.”
“The best compensation for the Greek people would be to resort to the polls as soon as possible, before it brings new bigger troubles,” he said.
For his part, the leader of PASOK and KINAL, Nikos Androulakis, attributed the mayhem to the lack of a plan and coordination, while criticizing the PM individually for long touting what is essentially an ineffective state apparatus. Androulakis lamented that citizens were let down.
“Thousands of our fellow citizens were left alone at the mercy of bad weather. Others were trapped on the Attiki Odos highway, others without electricity and heating, while main road arteries of the capital were closed for hours,” he said.
“For days now it was known that we would have extreme weather events of short duration,” he said, while also saying that the apology issued by Mitsotakis was “half an apology” as “he did not say a word” about those left without power and those who suffered on public transport.
