PM Mitsotakis under fire for lunch with 30 people amid lockdown (video)

It was a Greek citizen who denounced Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis for having a gathering with some 30 people amid the strict lockdown measures and the pandemic. The lunch took place on Saturday noon, just hours after the tightening of lockdown measures and a curfew that starts at 6 p.m. in many regions and municipalities across the country.

The denouncement was made by a resident of Ikaria who lives opposite the house of the local MP of ruling New Democracy who hosted the event to honor the Prime Minister. The woman posted on her personal FB account also an accompanied picture. “The prime minister and his entourage are eating on the veranda of the house of the MP from Samos,” the woman wrote.

One cannot clearly recognizes faces, however, it is clear that the participants neither wear masks nor do they keep the protection and lockdown-prescribed distance of 2 meters, while it is also clear it is not a large family gathering.

By 9 pm on Saturday, the PM’s office had not dismissed the claim.

How could there be any dismissal?

According to news  website news247.gr, the entourage was some 50 people, among them at least two ministers and the General Secretary for Primary Health Care and dignitaries from Ikaria and neighboring islands. Preparations for the event were ongoing since Thursday, the website reports and posts an exclusive video, showing the PM and his entourage entering the house accompanied by the sound of folks music.

Worth noting that under lockdown restrictions no more than 9 people are allowed to gather in a home and dozens of Greeks have paid hundred of euros in fines for having a small birthday party of even 10 for not wearing a mask.

The picture made the rounds on social media and triggered an outrage among average Greeks who saw the Prime Minister “disrespecting his own rules and the citizens.”

Η εικόνα είναι ο ορισμός της αλαζονείας και της ασέβειας.

Δεν υπάρχει καμία προτεραιότητα που να δικαιολογεί την βόλτα στην Ικαρία.

Δεν τραπεζωνεσαι με άλλα 30 άτομα λες και δεν έχει κλείσει η μισή χώρα.

Είναι αδύνατον να επιβάλεις αυστηρά μέτρα με τέτοιες συμπεριφορές. pic.twitter.com/japOF8CyRG

— nyrros (@Nyrros) February 6, 2021

“This picture is the definition of arrogance and disrespect. There is no priority to justify a trip to Ikaria. You cann’t have lunch with 30 other people as if half the country was not lockdowned. It is impossible to impose strict measures with such behavior.”.

Main opposition SYRIZA demanded explanations. MP and ex Minister Christos Spirtzis was quick to ask “if the citizen’s complaint was true” and thus at the time when the government decides even tougher measures and restrictions on weekends. Spirtzis asked “confirmation or dismissal” of the event with “the Prime Minister, groups of people without masks, in the presence of dozens of policemen.” The MP asked also information about the fines that will be issued for the participants…”

Αληθεύει η καταγγελία πολίτη ότι, την ώρα που αποφασίζεται από την κυβέρνηση περιορισμός τα Σαββατοκύριακα και σκληρά νέα μέτρα, στην Ικαρία και το σπίτι του βουλευτή της ΝΔ, Χρ. Στεφανάδη βρίσκονται ο πρωθυπουργός, παρέες ατόμων χωρίς μάσκες, παρουσία δεκάδων αστυνομικών; pic.twitter.com/3e1jGAnvAz

— Χρήστος Σπίρτζης (@c_spirtzis) February 6, 2021

PM Mitsotakis visited the remote islands of Ikaria and Fournoi in the eastern Aegean Sea on Saturday in order to check with the progress of the vaccination program. He was surrounded by elderly locals on Fournoi with whom he exchanged  warm “fist greeting” and listen to local songs.

The local branch of SYRIZA issued a statement expressing hope that the visit of the PM on the islands that had no coronvirus cases “will not affect the health of the islanders.”

Note that since the outbreak there had been only 4 cases on Ikaria in March 2020 and none on Fournoi.

The visit by Mitsotakis to the two islands was not under the sign of merciful stars anyway. He was criticized in the morning for having posted pictures from his trip on his instagram account, with many noting that the trip was certainly not necessary.

Others criticized mainstream media including the state broadcaster for not showing residents of Ikaria staging a protest or doctors and personnel at the local hospital demanding more resources.

PS The PM could have contacted locals on Fournoi and Ikaria per SKype, zoom, vibe etc to ask if they have been inoculated and at the very end return to Athens with a cheese-sandwich and a fruit juice on the plane. But it is not the first time, and certainly won’t be the last that PM Mitsotakis comes under fire for violating the rules he imposes to ten millions of citizens while he believes he is above all of his …servants (?).