Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a harsh speech in Parliament that opposition leader Alexis Tsipras is a hypocrite.
"You embody hypocrisy," Mitsotakis said, adding "I return the blame to you."
"You embody hypocrisy and fanaticism and you proved it today," he continued.
He noted that he accepted his question about police violence in order to condemn the beating of a citizen by a police officer in Nea Smyrni last week.
However, as he said, the "attempted murder" against the police officer in the same area followed on from the first incident.
"We all shuddered at the attempted murder of the 27-year-old policeman who was found covered in blood on the street," the Prime Minister said.
"It is unacceptable today, at a time when we are trying to open the economy, you come and disparage the details," he said to the president of SYRIZA.
Mitsotakis also accused Tsipras of investing in the narrative that the government failed to deal with COVID-19.
"You are not attacking the government but the country," he said.
"You have no elementary responsibility to see the real data, you are canceling an effort of all our fellow citizens," Mitsotakis continued whilst stressing that Tsipras expresses the ideas of a small portion of citizens.
He also denounced Tsipras for "irrevocably" accepting the risk of demonstrations.
"In this difficult time, you insist on organising rallies and marches," Mitsotakis highlighted.
At the same time, he pointed out that the demonstrations play a role in the transmission of COVID-19.
The Prime Minister, returning to the brutal beating of a citizen in Nea Smyrni by a police officer, unequivocally condemned the incident.
"It has no place in our daily lives, no matter what preceded or followed," he said.
"Police officers must have restraint even when he is insulted, even when they are being bullied, they must follow the rules," Mitsotakis said.
But, he pointed out that not all uniformed people should be judged on the same terms and reminded that even during SYRIZA's days, Tsipras used the police for his "personal image."
However, Mitsotakis apologised to all victims of police violence, both in his own time and in the past, and announced new initiatives regarding the police.
Specifically announced:
- Cameras for all police which will record image and sound.
- Collaborate with other countries to test whether uniformed candidates have any propensity for violence.
- Legislative initiative by the Ministry of Civil Protection to upgrade police studies.
- The ombudsman will have a special assistant in charge of investigating incidents of police violence with a staff of 10 people.
In his speech, Mitsotakis admitted that the government wrongly believed that the opposition parties would rise to the occasion and act responsibly towards the protection of human life.
"Unfortunately, you started to mobilize on the sidelines," he told Tsipras.
READ MORE: Police officer in Athens suspended over alleged misconduct.
