Greek opposition leader Alexis Tsipras made a bold call for the resignation of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, saying he has failed to manage the COVID-19 situation in the country.
The claim was made during the 2022 budget debate, with the SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance leader saying the government has proved “ineffective” and “incapable” of managing the country’s big problems.
“The Tsiodras-Lytras study alone would have been enough — ignoring the experts which cost thousands of lives, but also the lies that followed its publication — for any government of another European country to resign,” he said, referring to a study by Sotiris Tsiodras which found that intubation outside ICU has a mortality rate of 87%.
“And there’s only the way out of the current impasse. Resign, Mr. Mitsotakis. Call elections.”
Mitsotakis ruled out the possibility of early elections, also challenging the opposition leader saying SYRIZA’s low polling statistics meant Tsipras had “the most to lose” from an early election.
This didn’t deter Tsipras, however, who called on Greeks to “resist the politics of arrogance, corruption and decay you represent.”
“I call on the Greeks to demand that the government of the guilty leave. I call on the Greeks to impose their constitutional right to decide for themselves about their own tomorrow,” the Syriza leader said.
The Parliament approved Greece’s 2022 budget 158-142 Saturday, with only the ruling conservative New Democracy party voting for the budget as a whole.
The Parliament Speaker noted that the 5-day budget debate lasted over 61 hours, with 225 MPs and 36 ministers speaking.
