Anger in Greece over rail disaster prompts opposition plan to challenge government

ATHENS — Three Greek opposition parties vowed Friday to challenge the country’s center-right government with a censure motion over its handling of a deadly rail disaster nearly two years ago.

The pledge was prompted by mounting public anger over delays in the inquiry and allegations of a cover-up that the government strongly denies.

Fifty-seven people were killed — including college students returning from a holiday — when a passenger train collided head-on with a freight train on Feb. 28, 2023, near Tempe in northern Greece.

On Sunday, relatives of those killed led protests in dozens of cities, directed at the conservative government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Apart from rallies held in Athens, Thessaloniki and other Greek cities, protests were also organized by Greek communities in Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels and other European cities.

Sokratis Famellos, leader of the left-wing Syriza party, said outside parliament that he sided with two other opposition parties, Pasok and the New Left, to seek a no-confidence vote.

“A joint initiative by progressive parties for a censure motion is necessary today. The evidence is there, and society demands accountability,” Famellos said Friday.

Although a censure motion is unlikely to pose a direct threat to the government, it could help forge bonds in Greece’s fractured opposition. Lawmakers from the three parties confirmed they were involved in discussions to agree on the timing of the motion.

Investigations have faced delays, with critics accusing authorities of obstructing justice. While some railway officials have been charged, no senior political figures have been held accountable, further intensifying public scrutiny.

Speaking to ministers at a Cabinet meeting, Mitsotakis vowed to overcome the “turbulence” facing the government.

“This difficult week comes to a close under the shadow of the Tempe tragedy,” he said in a televised address. “We are now entering the final stage of investigations into this deeply painful national trauma.”

The controversy overshadowed an ongoing parliamentary process to elect a new president. A government-backed candidate, Constantine Tassoulas, failed to win the cross-party support needed to secure the presidency in a second round of voting in parliament Friday.

The 65-year-old former speaker of the assembly is expected to win in later rounds scheduled next month when the threshold is lowered.