A secret ballot in the plenary of the Greek Parliament registered a majority vote in favour of the proposal to have the Judicial Council investigate the case of former Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Kostas A. Karamanlis in relation to the Tempi train tragedy in 2023.
The final vote came to 157 MPs in favour and six against (with one invalid ballot) regarding the proposal of the Preliminary Committee’s conclusion for the prosecution of the possible commission of the offence of ‘breach of duty (259 PC)’ for Karamanlis.
All the parliamentary groups of the opposition parties abstained from the secret vote, except for the Course of Freedom party.
Several of the 25 independent MPs in total abstained from the vote, including the MPs of the Movement for Democracy party.
After the announcement of the result of the vote, Third Vice Chair of the Hellenic Parliament Athanasios Bouras announced that the Speaker of the House, Nikitas Kaklamanis, will initiate the procedures provided for by the Constitution, the Code of Conduct and the Law on the Responsibility of Ministers for the formation of the Judicial Council.
That will involve sending a relevant letter to the Ministry of Justice containing a list of legally qualified members of the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court of Cassation and Justice, from which the five full and three alternate members of the Judicial Council, as well as the Prosecutor and his deputy, can be appointed by lot at a forthcoming plenary session.
Outrage from the opposition
Various leaders representing opposition parties had choice words against the government for the way they have handled the situation in the aftermath to the Tempi tragedy, with PASOK- Movement for Change President Nikos Androulakis saying:
“You will not find us participating in this Pre-Investigation Committee farce. It is the only choice of political dignity. You will be left alone with your lies. We do not legitimize your methods.”
SYRIZA President Sokratis Famellos added to the negative sentiment, claiming the government has spent the 875 days since the tragedy trying to conceal the truth.
“875 days. That is how many have passed since that tragic night of the Tempi crime accident. 875 days, where every day the government tries to hide the truth. 875 days of cover-up. 875 days of insulting Truth, Justice, Democracy,” said Socrates Famellos, president of SYRIZA.
Dimitris Koutsoumbas, General Secretary of KKE, stated:
“Today the government and the governing majority of New Democracy are completing the ill-fated theatre of the cover-up that they have set up, the second after the one for Triantopoulos and as it seems, more are to follow.”
He also noted that KKE submitted a comprehensive rationale a month ago based on the case file that came to Parliament, which concluded “the need to investigate specific criminal responsibilities for the former Ministers of Transport, their Deputy Ministers and Mr. Mitsotakis himself as head of the government.”
Zoe Konstantopoulou also launched a scathing attack on the government and on the Prime Minister, addressing the empty benches.
The Course for Freedom president stressed that “you succeeded in getting all the opposition parties to leave” Parliament, except for her party’s MPs and two independents.
“What have you accomplished? How do you feel? Do you think you will drown out the pain, the anger, the stubbornness of parents and relatives, in this cemetery silence?” she asked, pointing out that “we are all judged on how we serve the citizens for whom we are here.”
“Mr Mitsotakis is the one who had personal involvement and personal understanding with Mr. Karamanlis, just as he had personal understanding with all the ministers, you know that too, for every process of disbursing funds.”
