Greek govt faces censure motion over handling of snowstorms

People walk in the snow at the foot of the Acropolis in Athens, Greece, on Jan. 24, 2022.

Athens, (Samajweekly) Greece’s main opposition SYRIZA party has tabled a censure motion against the incumbent government over its handling of the recent snowstorms.

SYRIZA has also criticised the government for its management of the Covid-19 pandemic, the economy and last summer’s wildfires, reports Xinhua news agency.

The country’s Parliament will open a three-day debate on Friday that will culminate in a vote, the Greek national news agency AMNA reported.

The ruling conservative New Democracy party has 157 seats in the 300-member Parliament.

A severe weather front has hit Greece since the weekend, causing significant travel disruptions and power outages for days in large parts of the mainland and on the Aegean islands.

On Monday, over 3,500 people were stranded in heavy snowfall on the Attiki Odos motorway that connects the Greek capital with its international airport and dozens of municipalities in the wider Athens region were left without electricity for several hours.

The snowfall, which stopped on Tuesday, was the heaviest seen in the Greek capital since 2008, the National Observatory of Athens said on Thursday.

On Thursday morning, the Attiki Odos motorway reopened, but in central Athens several households still had no power supply.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis apologised for “shortcomings” during a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, pledging to improve the state’s crisis management mechanism.

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