Major protests have erupted across Greece on the second anniversary of the Tempi rail disaster that left 57 people dead and the government scrambling for cover.
Anger boiled over as fresh allegations surfaced that the freight train involved in the crash with a passenger trian on February 28, 2023, was carrying illegal, highly flammable cargo, causing a fireball that killed and injured passengers.
A report by the National Organisation for the Investigation of Rail and Air Accidents published on February 27 confirmed such claims.
The following day, in one of the biggest protests in Greece in years, public services and many private businesses were brought to a halt and demonstrators poured into the streets of cities and towns chanting “murderers” against what they believed was the State’s role in the disaster.
Families of the victims held up pictures of their loved ones with the word “Justice” written beneath.
All international and domestic flights were grounded as air traffic controllers joined seafarers, train drivers, doctors, lawyers and teachers in a 24-hour general strike to pay tribute to the victims of the crash.
The government has denied any wrongdoing.
During the past two years, the Greek authorities have insisted the crash was purely the result of human error and an outdated railway system.
The majority of the public has not believed that explanation.
With trust in institutions at an all-time low, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s administration is under pressure.
Demonstrators, victims’ families and opposition figures have insisted the incident was a crime, not an accident.
Greece’s worst rail disaster in 2023 was due to chronic safety gaps that still need to be addressed to prevent a repeat, Greek investigators have said. https://t.co/pcyQnCDUpt
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) February 27, 2025
The explosion that followed the collision was no ordinary fire. Survivors recalled an inferno so intense that many victims were burned beyond recognition.
Forensic experts have suggested that such a blaze could not have been caused by a “normal” train crash alone.
Talk of a cover-up by the government has enraged a nation already distrustful of its political elite.
PM Mitsotakis, top politicians including Voice of Reason leader and MEP Afroditi Latinopoulou and mainstream media journalists who have backed the government’s rhetoric, have been vilified.
What started as a demand for transparency and accountability has transformed into an existential crisis for the Greek political establishment. Calls for resignations are growing louder.
Opposition parties have accused the government of covering up evidence and urged it to step down.
Later in March, the Greek parliament is expected to debate whether to set up a committee to investigate possible political responsibility in the disaster.
Greece’s government has survived a no-confidence motion over the country’s worst train disaster, which claimed 57 lives.https://t.co/kwvuak5XtB
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) March 29, 2024
The families of the victims have been leading the charge against what they say is a grotesque betrayal by the State.
Maria Karystianou, a representative of the Tempi 2023 Victims’ Association, who has become a towering public figure, addressed a furious crowd in Athens’ Syntagma Square, stating: “Our children’s bodies were left to burn while politicians covered their tracks. They insult our dead with their lies. But Nemesis is coming.”
The Mitsotakis government has gone into survival mode. The PM is now pledging railway upgrades, but New Democracy’s polling numbers are plummeting.
Under intense pressure, the PM addressed the growing anger, saying: “I understand the pain and frustration of the people. What happened in Tempi was a national tragedy, and we will not rest until the truth is fully uncovered. But we must allow the judiciary to complete its work and avoid reckless accusations that divide society.”
The judiciary has been accused of dragging its feet and there are questions as to whether true accountability will come from within the system.
The Tempi disaster has fuelled deep resentment against Greece’s traditional political class. Among the opposition parties that have reaped the benefits is Hellenic Solution.
The national-conservative, anti-establishment party had climbed to third place according to polls, positioning itself as a force willing to take on the corrupt elite.
Its leader, Kyriakos Velopoulos, has been blunt: “This government does not deserve to stand. Tempi was not an accident. It was a crime. A crime that must be punished.”
Latest polls have indicated that disillusioned voters, particularly young Greeks, are increasingly turning to radical alternatives.
In a survey by Pulse pollsters, 82 per cent of Greeks said the train disaster was “one of the most” or “the most” important issue in the country and 66 per cent said they were dissatisfied with the investigations into the accident.
Amidst this turmoil, reports have started circulating that Mitsotakis may be eyeing an escape route through a top European post, such as presidency of the European Council, a position to be left vacant by Antonio Costa if he returns to Portugal as a candidate in the upcoming presidential election there.
Apostolos Tzitzikostas, the designated Greek nominee for European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, has been grilled over the fatal Tempi train crash in northern Greece in 2023. https://t.co/UabReDNMbf
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) November 5, 2024
Greece: corrupt elites bring a nation to its knees, Brussels beware