ENGLISH SECTION
18/06/2025 | 16:38
Mitsotakis: I will not become complicit in the dramatic degradation of political discourse
“We have spoken many times about the Tempi tragedy in the parliament, and I have extensively outlined my interpretation not only of what caused the incident but also of how we will make our trains completely safe. I would not want my presence to be interpreted as an indirect legitimisation of a process that attributes unthinkable accusations against me, personally,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Wednesday in Parliament.
Mitsotakis was addressing Parliament during the debate over the setting up of a special parliamentary committee to carry out a preliminary investigation on the Tempi train accident and the related proposals tabled about it.
“I could not remain silent in the face of a vile attempt by the four smallest opposition parties to turn a national tragedy into a political conspiracy – going so far as to accuse the prime minister of high treason. To slander me and New Democracy as underminers of the political system with the goal of dismantling it. This is disgraceful – an attack on the very party that restored democracy in Greece,” he emphasised.
“This is a disgraceful attack against an elected prime minister with a sweeping mandate in three elections,” he added, talking of a collaboration in “an act of populism”. He said this “clashes not only with truth and logic, but with morality itself,” while noting that this “coalition of toxicity” by led by the MPs Zoi Konstantopoulou, Kyriakos Velopoulos, Stefanos Kasselakis and Dimitris Natsios was “nothing new” but something Greece has seen before.
Mitsotakis stated that the specific proposal deviates from parliamentary principles and is a breach of democratic order. “I will not engage in dialogue with any slanderer, nor will I become complicit in the dramatic degradation of political discourse … I am not here for any charge of high treason, for any felony, or other absurd fabrication,” he stressed.
The prime minister stated that only the independent judiciary can bring justice and closure to this tragedy. “I chose to be here once again to denounce an opposition that, for two years, has been poisoning the truth surrounding a tragic accident. You have only one objective, using the Tempi tragedy as a pretext – to bring down the government and Mitsotakis. An attempt to turn human grief into political fury. But reality came and shattered the myths. Where did the xylene and smuggling claims go? Where are the phantom carriages, the mysterious weapons, the missing dead, Mr. Velopoulos? You even tried to blame unrelated deaths on the government and on me personally. And even the story about the alleged cover-up has disappeared,” he said.
Everyone can see, the prime minister noted, that the charge of high treason, signed by 32 MPs, is nothing more than a last-ditch effort to attack the government and push the country toward instability.
“It’s turning into a boomerang against its initiators,” emphasised Mitsotakis, who added that, for the same reasons, he would not comment on PASOK’s proposal. On that point, he stated that the investigation should uncover the truth at every level -with the calmness and impartiality that only the judiciary can offer in a modern democracy.
The prime minister said that New Democracy’s proposal is sufficient. “We want no shadow of doubt. And if we support the establishment of a preliminary investigation committee, it’s because it is the fastest path for political persons to reach the natural judge. They themselves have the courage to request it. The key lies in distinguishing between political and criminal responsibility.”
Mitsotakis stressed that we must see the big picture that is taking shape on the world map, most recently the eruption of the Israel-Iran conflict that may have consequences in Greece’s region.
He pointed out that all parties receive regular updates from the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
“Unfortunately, today it will also be proven that you are not up to the occasion. Hostages of the past, trapped in your contradictions, in your anger towards me. There were also parties that took a negative position even on the free distribution of home medicines. It is not an opposition to the government but to society. No to everything, yes to nothing. An irremediable yes to misery and stagnation. Our response to this absurdity of those who seek to divert the country from the path of certainty and progress is the continuation of our work and our positive agenda,” Mitsotakis underlined.
source ANA-MPA
