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Scores of youths set fire to trash bins in Syntagma Square in
central Athens, and police in riot gear responded with tear gas
and baton charges. There were no immediate reports of injuries
or arrests.
The fierce clashes erupted hours after opposition parties
challenged Greece's center-right government with a no-confidence
motion in parliament. Days earlier, a general strike and much
larger protests, some violent, marked the second anniversary of
the Feb. 28, 2023, tragedy.
Many of the victims of the head-on collision between a passenger
train and a freight train at Tempe in northern Greece were
university students returning from a long weekend holiday.
Dozens of people were injured in the crash.
Victims' relatives called for the mass mobilization in recent
weeks, saying politicians should be held accountable for
failures that led to the collision. So far, only rail officials
have been charged.
The censure motion — led by the main opposition Socialist party
and backed by three smaller left-wing parties — is unlikely to
threaten the government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis,
which holds 156 seats in the 300-member parliament. A vote is
expected late Friday.
Presenting the motion on Wednesday, Socialist party leader Nikos
Androulakis accused the government of shielding officials from
accountability for the tragedy.
“Why do you remain so unrepentant, continuing down this road of
insults and arrogance?” Androulakis asked lawmakers. “That’s why
we are submitting a motion of no confidence today.” Mitsotakis
described the censure motion as a political stunt and insisted
it poses no threat to his second term, which is due to end in
2027. “Parties from different vantage points have come together
in a common anti-government front,” Mitsotakis told lawmakers.
“It's not the truth that you are interested in. But you have
collapsed in opinion polls and are looking for a reason to
exist.”
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Petros Giannakouris and Lefteris Pitarakis contributed
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