New Democracy Secretary of the Political Committee Konstantinos Kyranakis spoke about the climate that has formed following the triple arson attack against party officials in Thessaloniki, while also addressing in detail the reactions recorded on social media.

Speaking to SKAI, Kyranakis noted that “the face of the last 48 hours is Vaya Nestora,” referring to what he described as “disturbing reactions online” and users who, as he said, “consciously write messages calling for violence,” including comments such as “more is coming for you.”

At the same time, he argued that the current situation is the result of a broader political climate that, in his view, has developed over recent years, stating that “society has been led there by a climate that was not created today.”

Referring to New Democracy’s actions after the attack, he said party officials participated in a “peaceful human chain” aimed, as he put it, at expressing solidarity with the family of Vaya Nestora and her daughter, Aphrodite, stressing that the message sent was that “we are not afraid and the attackers did not achieve their goal.”

At a political level, the ND secretary criticised opposition figures and referred extensively to the Left, speaking of “responsibilities” and “statements that have created a climate of tolerance towards violence,” citing a series of examples from the past.

Specifically, he stated the following:

“We have Alexis Tsipras, who is reintroducing himself to Greek society with a name that refers to the Civil War. That is clear. And, so that there is no confusion, they even called it the Left Alliance. Because Tsipras has governed, and with his legislation, his statements, the vote he gave on the bill when he was in opposition against the government for the autonomy of the penal code and so on, there are records. So, when you have spent so many months thinking about how to reintroduce yourself to the Greek people, and you never distance yourself from those members who said and declared unacceptable things, then yes, you bear responsibility. I have in front of me here a statement by his MP, Eleni Stamataki: ‘political prisoners, the Fire Cells Conspiracy’.”

“I have a text of support signed by 15 SYRIZA officials, under Alexis Tsipras, which is in favour of Koufontinas. I have the statement of Mr Lappas, an MP of Mr Tsipras: ‘what crime is committed by someone who has a Molotov cocktail in their bag’. I have two MPs of Mr Tsipras, Kourakis and Katrivanou, who stood by Savvas Xiros. I have the outrageous Nikos Pappas, who was not expelled from SYRIZA — Tsipras chose him as a European Parliament candidate and he was elected, not anyone else. He was not expelled when he made statements about the so-called ‘peinirli’, implying bomb attacks and admitting he has links with terrorists. Another SYRIZA figure under Mr Tsipras, Giorgos Kyrtsis: ‘I do not remember anyone being killed by a Molotov cocktail’.”

Concluding, Kyranakis announced that New Democracy intends to take legal action against users who, as he said, “threaten or incite violence on social media,” adding that “impunity on the internet is ending” and that legal measures will be taken “one by one.”