Government officials have said on Sunday that the decision by the main opposition leftist Syriza party to table a motion of no confidence was a desperate move in the face of polls, Ekathimerini reports.
Citizen Protection Minister, Takis Theodorikakos, the first minister to speak during the first day of a three-day debate on the censure motion, said Syriza’s proposal is also an attempt to paper over its internal disagreements.
He also accused the opposition of having nothing negative to say about the operators of Attiki Odos, the motorway around Athens, who failed to keep the motorway open and stranded over 2,000 motorists during a heavy snowstorm last Monday.
Theodorikakos admitted that the government and the state agencies failed to adequately respond to the uncommon storm, although they had ample warning.
“We do not hide problems, we do not hide mistakes and weaknesses,” he said.
READ MORE: Greek government faces confidence vote after botched blizzard response.
Mitsotakis attended Theodorikakos’ speech on Friday afternoon but did not intervene in the debate. On Sunday however, he had his say along with opposition leader, and his predecessor as Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras.
Tsipras took the floor first and asked the Greek government to give an explanation for the problems caused by the Elpis snowstorm.
“It was not only Attiki Odos that was closed. Other roads were closed. Will you tell us where you were wrong? Will you ever take any responsibility?” Tsipras asked, before accusing Mitsotakis of giving a “sham apology.”
In response, Mitsotakis pointed out that he forced the motorway operator to pay each stranded motorist €2,000 and stressed that even if the “apology” of the government is a sham, it is better than “no apology of SYRIZA for the 120 dead in Mati.”
READ MORE: Greek PM apologises for snowstorm ordeal which left thousands stranded.
“You never apologized for either Mati or Mandra,” Mitsotakis responded.
About 220 of the Parliament’s 300 MPs spoke during the debate, which concluded at 8 pm on Sunday with a roll-call vote.
Ekathimerini reports that lawmakers voted 156-142 against the motion after the acrimonious debate. The result was expected, as the ruling center-right New Democracy holds 157 seats in the 300-member Parliament.
