The Party of the European Left on the tragic railway accident in Greece

The Party of the European Left, its leadership, and members, offer our deepest condolences to the families of the victims killed at the last week’s terrible railway accident in Greece. Our heart goes to the bereaved, though words are not enough to ease their pain. We wish rapid and complete recovery to the wounded.

The sudden loss of life of so many people, most of them young students, came as a shock to all of us. Moreover, we share Greek people’s indignation at the causes of the railway accident.

The fatal combination of rampant austerity of which the EU leadership bears heavy and disastrous responsibility, and the current Greek government’s aversion to public goods and public services are at the root cause of this tragic accident. Individual failures should not be allowed to serve as an excuse. Systematic underinvestment in public services, a fixation with cost-cutting and privatization of State-Owned Enterprises created a unique environment where random human mistakes and incompetence can have horrible, irreversible consequences. Human life and public safety should stand above business profit and ideological obsession.

We demand, along with Greek citizens, a thorough and fair investigation of the causes of the accident and punishment of every official responsible, no matter how high in the state and government hierarchy.