Society’s red lines
Parliament’s investigative committee for the Tempe rail disaster wrapped up its deliberations, with the findings submitted by the ruling New Democracy party being approved by the House majority. One of the key conclusions that has emerged is that seven separate violations of the rail operator’s regulations were confirmed. Another case that had been brought before Parliament concerned a train that ran a red stop light near Athens on Christmas Eve in 2023, thankfully without causing any casualties.
In an interview with Kathimerini’s online edition, European Chief Prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi stressed the need for justice in the Tempe tragedy. She suggested that the law protecting ministers from prosecution needs to change as the current legal framework in Greece prevents the judiciary from doing its job properly.
She said that her office is bringing criminal charges against 23 state functionaries but has been unable to investigate the former ministers involved in the matter due to the provisions of the Constitution. The focus of her office’s investigation is on where the money for upgrading Greece’s rail network went. “Based on the available evidence, if the project had been carried out on time and properly, this tragedy would never have happened,” she says.
In short, what it all boils down to is violations – from whether the money earmarked for important infrastructure and safety equipment on the Greek railways was spent as intended to how the rules designed for ensuring passenger safety were bent. How many “violations” does it take before the “red lines” that are bandied about so freely are crossed? And if death is the thing that breaches the line, what happens then? Are there consequences, or is the line simply pushed a little further away to ensure there is no fallout for whichever government official comes in the line of fire?
A public opinion poll on the Tempe tragedy that was carried out just a few days ago found that 77% of respondents believe that there is evident political responsibility for the crash and also of a political cover-up of the affair. They also believe that little has been done to prevent a similar tragedy from happening again.
When the opposition proves unable to hold the government to account, the citizens assume that role. A public opinion poll does not send a message; it is the message. It is society’s way of showing that it has red lines too.
