Leader of the SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance oppoision party, Alexis Tsipras, said in a Wednesday interview to Komotini-based Radio Paratiritis that the government bears "immense and criminal" responsibility for its management of the pandemic.
He said that Greece was facing a truly dire situation as deaths due attributed to the pandemic had risen sharply in the last three months and the country now occupied one of the worst positions in Europe in terms of deaths per million.
"The vaccination rate is very low and the number of cases tremendously high," Tsipras noted, claiming that the government's centrally planned rhetoric from May onwards had asserted that the pandemic "was over".
Tsipras said that for the second time in the year, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis had asserted with certainty that "we are done with the virus and that anyone who gets vaccinated is finished with the pandemic."
The opposition leader said that his party has shown responsibility and recognised the difficult situation, while he had asked several times for the political leaders' council to be convened.
"At a time, however, when we are counting the infections and deaths, Mr. Mitsotakis is only interested in counting votes," Tsipras added, saying that the premier was leading the country into a tragic impasse.
Ahead of his visit to Komotini on Thursday, the main opposition leader underlined that it was very important for SYRIZA to be close to citizens, to communicate with them and understand society's concerns.
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