Mitsotakis accuses leftist gov’t of fomenting violence

Hours after receiving a threat from anti-establishment group Rouvikonas (Greek for Rubicon), Greece’s conservative opposition chief accused the leftist-led government of fomenting violence and lawlessness in the country in a bid to advance its political ends.

“There is only one violence and it is a danger to democracy,” New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in Parliament during a debate on the economy, while slamming the administration for failing to take action against the group that has carried out dozens of acts of vandalism against state offices, financial agencies, embassies, media and other businesses.

Mitsotakis said that ruling SYRIZA had supported the violent street riots that broke out in Athens in 2008 and that leftist officials have in the past justified violence against members of rival parties.

On Wednesday, Rouvikonas warned Mitsotakis that it planed to target him following his comments regarding Monday’s attack against the Council of State, Greece’s top administrative court.

“Whatever we have to say to Mitsotakis we will say to him up close and very soon,” a leading member of Rouvikonas wrote on Facebook.

The conservative leader also attacked Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras for seeking to link the Saturday lynch mob attack by far-right extremists against Thessaloniki’s liberal centrist mayor Yiannis Boutaris to New Democracy.

“I will not allow you to drop the slightest hint that New Democracy is in any way related to any manifestation of violence,” he said.