A fierce political clash erupted between Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis and the leader of the Plefsi Eleftherias party, Zoe Konstantopoulou, over the case of Panos Routsis — a father of a Tempi train crash victim who is currently on hunger strike.
During a televised interview on Mega, Konstantopoulou launched a verbal attack against Georgiadis, calling him “a ridiculous person — and in saying this, I am being unfair to ridiculous people.” She accused the government of “strangling justice” and claimed that the Health Minister’s role was “to distract and discredit the families’ struggle” for accountability in the Tempi disaster.
Responding through a lengthy statement, Georgiadis denounced Konstantopoulou’s remarks as “falsehoods and slander” that go beyond political rivalry and amount to “an attack on the entire Greek justice system.”
“The claim that the government prevented forensic examinations on the Tempi victims is not only false but deeply defamatory,” Georgiadis said. “Such accusations portray every judge and prosecutor in Greece as a government accomplice, undermining faith in the independence of the judiciary. Mrs. Konstantopoulou, who has sworn to uphold the Constitution, tramples on its very core — respect for judicial independence.”
Georgiadis went on to accuse the Plefsi Eleftherias leader of “exploiting grief for political gain,” branding her “a predator of power and human pain.” He argued that her “conspiracy theories about smuggling” offend the memory of deceased train drivers and “inflict pain on their families without empathy or respect.”
The minister further stated that Konstantopoulou’s rhetoric — suggesting that coroners and judges are government-controlled — “spreads hatred and mistrust in society,” warning that such behavior “poses a serious threat to Greek democracy.”
“Those who truly love this country must resist her deceitful tactics,” he said. “Populism destroys democracy from within, and New Democracy has a duty — as it has done in the past — to confront it head-on.”
Concluding, Georgiadis described being insulted by Konstantopoulou as “an honor” in his political career, adding that “her political downfall will be as loud as her lies.”
Earlier in the day, Konstantopoulou had appeared outside the Ministry of Health, alongside Routsis, where she accused the government of “trampling on the struggle of a grieving father.” She called on authorities to “stop this outrage that has plunged society into darkness,” demanding immediate orders to proceed with exhumations related to the Tempi investigation.
