Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (R) visited the remote Aegean islands of Ikaria, Fournoi and Thymena
Credit: Shutterstock
Greece’s opposition leader filed a complaint to parliament on Monday after the prime minister attended a large lunchtime gathering just as the country was placed under tougher lockdown restrictions.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the prime minister, was accused of hypocrisy and showing disdain for the rules after attending a lunch on the Aegean island of Ikaria.
He was hosted by an MP from his New Democracy party, with around 30 people sitting down to a meal outdoors on a harbour-side terrace.
Alexis Tsipras, the leader of the country’s Left-wing opposition, filed a parliamentary complaint, accusing Mr Mitsotakis of “unbelievable arrogance” at a time when social gatherings in homes are banned and many restaurants have been forced to close because of the pandemic.
The weekend gathering came after the government further tightened Greece’s lockdown restrictions, bringing forward a curfew for Athens and Thessaloniki to 6pm.
The PM gathered for lunch with a large group of people on the island of Ikaria in the Aegean
Credit: AFP
Greece has been in a state of lockdown since November, with people not allowed to leave home unless it is to go to work, to exercise, to shop for food and other essentials, or for health reasons.
A government spokesman denied that anti-coronavirus rules had been breached, saying that the lunch had taken place “in the open air”. Guests wore face masks in between courses, he said.
"At a time when the national vaccination programme is unfolding, demanding the support of all political parties, Mr Tsipras chooses the tactics of division and disorientation", said Christos Tarantilis.
“In future, every possible effort will be made to avoid giving a false impression.”
A Chinook helicopter transporting Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis arrives on remote Fournoi island in the Aegean
Credit: Shutterstock
The prime minister was visiting Ikaria in support of the country’s vaccination programme, which is being rolled out on islands in the Aegean so as to protect local populations from the anticipated arrival of tourists in the summer.
It is not the first time that Mr Mitsotakis has been accused of flouting lockdown regulations.
In December, he and his wife were photographed on a mountain biking trip in a forest 30 miles outside Athens, posing with a group of motocross riders, none of whom were wearing masks or respecting social distancing rules. Mr Mitsotakis’ representatives at the time insisted he was abiding by the rules.
Mr Tsipras, who leads the Syriza party and was prime minister before Mr Mitsotakis, accused his successor of showing contempt for the rules.
"The wise man does not make the same mistake twice. It is not a repeated action of carelessness, but it shows deep arrogance…. ‘I am the power and I do what I want’. Why? ‘Because I can’," he wrote on Instagram.
Greece, which has a population of around 10 million, has recorded around 6,000 deaths from Covid-19.
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