Ex PM Samaras sharply criticizes Mitsotakis over Tempi investigation, victims’ families

Former Prime Minister and independent MP Antonis Samaras launched a “bombshell” against PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis  and announced during his speech in Parliament on Friday that he will abstain from the vote on censure motion.

The former President of ND essentially lashed out at the current Prime Minister, underlining that the government mishandled the Tempi accident. In fact, he stressed, “two years later we had no official conclusion,” while he tried to silence the existence of an illegal cargo.

Antonis Samaras criticized the government’s stance towards the families of the victims, emphasizing that “the government, instead of embracing the families of the victims, was arguing with them!”

“At a time when the entire society felt the victims as its own children, the government was playing defense and did not stand by the families,” Samaras stressed.

“When the conclusion was released a few days ago, it was revealed that there was a terrible fire and explosion, which was not due to the collision of the two trains, but to an unknown load of fuel! Certainly, not from the engine oils. And the government tried from the beginning to keep quiet about the existence of this illegal cargo, the ignition of which increased the number of victims”, he said characteristically.

He criticized the fact that the government did not understand the anger of society:

“People are taking to the streets, because two years after the terrible accident, there was still no justice. Millions of Greeks took to the streets. A great blow to both the Government and the Justice…”.

At the same time, he emphasized that he had warned the government to change its stance towards the families of the victims: “I warned it not to do it. I asked it publicly to embrace them. Even if they had said one more word – to hug them! To feel their pain… They didn’t! And the Government turned – all by itself – a popular expression of solidarity with the victims, into a huge anti-government demonstration…”.

“The government itself is fueling the destabilization”

The former prime minister accused the government of arrogance and inability to manage developments, noting that “the popular outcry today against the government does not reflect on our Party…”.

At the same time, he did not fail to point out the great poll damage of ND:

“It received 40.5% in the 2023 elections and within just one year – before the popular anger over the Tempi erupted, and before the ‘Trump tsunami’ came to the USA – it had lost more than half of our voters in the European elections!”.

[Note in the last two polls after the huge Tempi protests ND may still lead, however, with 23% and even 20% in a poll published today.]

Referring to the recent protests, Antonis Samaras mocked the government’s claims that “bots” were behind them as the government narrative claimed two days ago.

“Our political system is being de-legitimized”

The former Prime Minister made it clear that he would abstain from the vote on the motion of no confidence, pointing out that the crisis does not only concern the government, but the entire political system.

Antonis Samaras concluded his speech with a message for the future of the country:

“Let us finally get out of this misery… Let us dare to restart. Greece has a privileged position in the Eastern Mediterranean. It has potential for alliances that it has not yet activated. It has wealth that it has not yet exploited.”

Finally, he called for unity, but also for abandoning dead-end policies and arrogance:

“There is no one left of us… But arrogance, end. Dead-end policies, end. Half-truths, end. The demonization of different opinions, end. This ease with which we willingly discuss with our enemies, while we disparage each other, end!”

“Let everyone assume their responsibilities!”, he concluded.

PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis expelled Antonis Samaras from New Democracy in an unprecedented move in November 2024, because the former PM was much too critical to the current Premier especially in foreign policy regarding Turkey and national issues in general. Antonis Samras was Pime Minister from June 2012 to January 2015.