Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis has called for a revision of Article 86 of the Constitution to address the government's actions against the preliminary investigation into the Tempe train disaster. In a press conference following the European Union Summit, he discussed the need for this revision, as the article currently grants the Greek Parliament exclusive authority to prosecute government officials for criminal offences. This move can be interpreted as an effort to deflect criticism over the government's management of the investigation.

“I have already made a statement on this issue, but I would really ask everyone to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. I’ve been a member of Parliament for 21 years, and in 2006, I was the first to speak about the need to revise Article 86, so that we don’t give the impression, as a political system, that we have double standards when it comes to addressing the possible criminal responsibilities of politicians,” Mitsotakis said when asked about the opposition’s reaction to Mr Triantopoulos’ demand to bypass parliamentary inquiry taking his case directly to the judicial council.

He added, “Since then, we’ve made progress in the right direction. On our initiative, this government majority essentially abolished the statute of limitations, and now, in my view, Mr Triantopoulos has taken a bold step by doing what everyone was asking for. And what is that? The case will be judged by the appropriate court, and I believe this decision, which aligns with the government’s intentions, opens the door to a more substantial revision of Article 86, in line with what we have all spoken about.

I truly don’t understand how the opposition parties, especially PASOK, can now say the exact opposite of what they said just a week ago. I don’t think this is how we build trust between citizens and our political system.”

“As a politician who has always fought for this cause, I will lead the effort to change Article 86, as I’ve committed to doing. I believe that both citizens and politicians would prefer to be judged by the appropriate authorities, in this case, by the country’s highest court, rather than having their legal matters become a subject of party-political conflict. After all, we have witnessed many preliminary and investigative committees, and we know where they have led,” he concluded.

As a reminder, former Deputy Minister Christos Triantopoulos has requested that the case regarding the cover-up of the Tempe crime scene be sent directly to the judicial council, bypassing the preliminary investigation of the Parliament, a move that has already sparked reactions from opposition parties, who accuse PM Mitsotakis of attempting to protect himself.

Just yesterday, Thursday, 20 March, the government majority in the preliminary investigation committee session proposed summoning Triantopoulos, after rejecting the opposition parties’ requests to call other witnesses before him, including the PM. SYRIZA, PASOK, the Greek Communist Party (KKE), and the New Left party walked out of the meeting, accusing the government of attempting to bring an early end to the process before it had even begun.

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