A concert on a truck initiated by the Mayor of Athens and the crowding outside the Prime Minister’s residence amid lockdown have angered Greeks who have been complying with the anti-coronavirus measures for over a month. Singer Alkistis Protopsalti and some musicians on the back of a truck toured the streets of Athens on Saturday to entertain the residents stuck home due to the coronavirus lockdown but also the frontline health workers dealing with COVID-19 patients in the hospitals of the Greek capital such as Sotiria and Evangelismos.
The initiative was launched by Athens Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis as a “way to say thank you to all the people who are doing battle for us.”
In a post on Facebook, the mayor urged Athenians to “open their windows” to the initiative and “stay positive.”
People rushed to their balconies and windows and welcomed the music break in a triste reality inside their homes for over a month.
However, the event caused also a crowding, when the truck stopped outside the residence of the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
On social media Greeks accused authorities of “double standards” with regards to lockdown violations and many wondered how could so many people be on the truck, how could journalists crowded in next to the Prime Minister and without any sanctions.
Και καλά του έκαναν…
Την περιφορά με καρότσα του δήμου και την Πρωτοψάλτη
να κάνει καντάδα στον
Κουλη δεν έχει πρόστιμο και αφαίρεση πινακίδων?
Τέτοιοι είστε…
Τέτοια κάνετε…#πρωτοψαλτη#απαγορευση_κυκλοφοριας pic.twitter.com/rs6HPBeBDA— Paris▫️Prs (@ParisPrs) April 25, 2020
Some recalled that the driver of a pick-up truck was fined with 150 euros for the Epitaph procession on Good Friday through the streets of a village.
Δεν θα μπορούσε ο επιταφιος να περάσει όπως πέρασε η πρωτοψάλτη χθες; Ήρεμα ρωτάω. #Πρωτοψαλτη #καραντίνα #φαρισαιοι pic.twitter.com/mjtzYaLRIb
— Oustapasidis Nikos (@nikooust) April 26, 2020
Others criticized the media for showing pictures of people shopping and crowding in open markets but not mentioning the crowding during the event.
Έξαλλοι οι παρουσιαστές των δελτίων ειδήσεων με τους ανθρώπους που ψωνίζουν είδη πρώτης ανάγκης στις λαϊκές αγορές #Πρωτοψαλτη pic.twitter.com/nmRGbmTpzr
— Χριστοφ. Ζαραλικος (@zaralikos) April 25, 2020
SYRIZA let the Prime Minister and the mayor of Athens know that they should have respected the “sacrifices and the agony of the Greeks” and refrain from organizing such public relations and image improvement fiestas.
The whole event that was probably well meant ended up in the usual political altercation between the ruling party and the main opposition.