Editorials

The Irish Times view on the latest protests in Greece: grief turns to rage

Anger at the circumstances of last week’s rail crash has brought tens of thousands onto the streets and put the government in danger

Students march as they take part in a demonstration during a nationwide day of mass strikes and protests on Wednesday over Greece's worst rail tragedy (Photo by Louisa Gouliamaki / AFP)

Thu Mar 9 2023 - 22:10

The outpouring of national grief and shock quickly turned to rage. Greece’s worst-ever train crash last week, a head-on collision of two trains on the same track, in which 57 people died, was so clearly the result of human neglect and complacency and endlessly delayed rail investment that the country has been convulsed with recriminations ever since. A general strike on Wednesday led to tens of thousands of demonstrators on the streets of Athens, Thessaloniki and across the country.

A stationmaster has been arrested, charged with negligent homicide, and awaits trial. A judicial inquiry has been fast-tracked. The minister has resigned, his successor promises root and branch, immediate reform. And the prime minister has issued a grovelling apology, the centre -right government imperilled in forthcoming elections, which have reportedly been delayed. Railroad services have been suspended, with rail workers on strike anyway since the crash.

Chronic staff shortages and sub-standard equipment, in particular the poor signalling system, made this a preventable accident waiting to happen. “Human error” is an inadequate excuse.

For many the crash is symptomatic of a deeper national crisis. “This is more than a train collision and a tragic railway accident. You get the sense that the country has derailed,” Nasos Iliopoulos, a spokesperson for Greece’s main leftwing opposition, Syriza, observed.

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The government has appealed to the EU for emergency assistance to fix the network and EU experts are flying in to advise. But the EU’s ¤600 million investment over the last nine years in the Greek transport system, mostly the rail system, is under scrutiny over interminable implementation delays and apparent diversion of funds.

Hasty changes being made now look like a case of too little, too late. The protests have been the biggest since those over the policies imposed by the Troika a decade ago and – reflecting the death of many students in the crash – have seen huge attendance from younger people. The scale of what has happened is shaking Greek politics again.

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