On Thursday evening, the Greek Parliament met to vote on a motion of no confidence against the government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The opposition, led by social democratic party Pasok, had requested the vote and was supported by all other parties. Despite their best efforts, however, the motion was rejected.
The focus of the motion was a serious train accident that occurred about a year ago near Larisa station. In this accident, a freight train collided with an Intercity train and resulted in the death of 57 people. The Larisa station manager confessed before the judiciary that he directed the Intercity onto the wrong track.
The opposition accused the government of manipulating evidence, particularly leaked radio conversations between the train drivers and a station master that suggested that the accident was solely due to human error. Prime Minister Mitsotakis admitted that there were shortcomings in Greece’s railway safety systems but argued that if it weren’t for human error on behalf of Larissa station manager, this tragic accident wouldn’t have occurred.
The investigation revealed poor conditions on Greece’s railway network and inadequate safety precautions. The train accident shocked many Greeks as it happened late at night when most of those killed were young students returning from holiday celebrations. It raised concerns about how safe Greece’s trains really are and what steps need to be taken to prevent such accidents from happening again in the future