The decision to resign Kostas Karamanlis from the post of Minister of Infrastructure, with which he assumed political responsibility, was solely his. He even stated this to the prime minister during their joint visit to Tempi, which Kyriakos Mitsotakis greatly appreciated, hence the mention of the name of the now former minister in his statement. Unusual for Greece, Karamanla’s decision not only does him credit, but also sets a positive precedent for future generations: when mistakes are made, take responsibility.

Condolences from Erdogan

Shortly after the Tempi tragedy, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a telegram of condolences to Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, according to Turkish Anadolu news agency. According to the statement, Mr. Erdogan expressed his deep regret over the railway accident and offered his condolences. Before the Turkish President’s statement, a telephone conversation took place between the foreign ministers of the two countries, Mevlut Cavusoglu and Nikos Dendiash.

Macron and Zakharova

News of the conflict spread around the world and prompted a flurry of condolences from foreign leaders. “We are on your side,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in Greek, while European Parliament President Roberta Metzola also expressed her condolences in a Twitter post. Emmanuel Macron tweeted in Greek “France is on the side of the Greeks,” while Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also issued a statement expressing “our sincere condolences to the Greek people.” Messages were also sent by the President of North Macedonia D. Kovachevsky, the President of the Republic of Cyprus N. Christodoulidis, the head of the Elk M. Weber, E. Rama and G. Stoltenberg.

“no discussion”

The Tempe tragedy has inevitably rekindled debate over the timing of the election, as the original timetable is currently in limbo. You can read all the scenarios in today’s “K”, without any actual reaction from Maximos. Yesterday was not the right day for such discussions, and government sources noted in a column that the final registration of the dead and injured and the support of their families is important, adding that discussion of the elections can wait.