(Athens) Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced on Tuesday evening, three weeks after a train disaster that raised crowds against his government, that general elections would be held in May, without specifying the exact date.
“I can tell you with certainty that the elections will take place in May,” the leader of the conservative New Democracy party said in an interview with the private television channel Alpha, as the train collision that killed 57 people on 28 February sparked an outpouring of anger across the country with tens of thousands on the streets.
The term of the Conservative government, in power for almost four years, expires in early July, according to the Constitution.
According to numerous media reports, the government had originally planned to call an election in April, but the head-on collision of two trains, the country’s worst train accident, has shocked Greece and forced the government to revise its plans.
The accident was attributed primarily to the station manager on duty that evening. He was charged and remanded in custody.
But experts and the media have pointed the finger at the responsibilities of the government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis, which for four years has not been able to deal with the chronic failures of the railways.
Struck for his management deemed calamitous of this collision, the Prime Minister promised “absolute transparency” in the judicial investigation.
Greece had already entered the pre-election period when a wiretapping scandal broke last summer, which dealt a serious blow to the government.
The left-wing opposition has since been calling for the resignation of the government and early elections.
