Opposition parties and social media users have accused Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis of breaking the lockdown rules imposed by his own government to stem the spread of Covid-19 after he was photographed cycling north of Athens last weekend.
A photo published in the Documento Sunday paper shows Mitsotakis posing with a group of motorbikers he accidentally came upon in the forest of Mt. Parnitha. Not one of them is wearing mask or keeping the appropriate social distance from one another.
Moreover, many social media users have accused Mitsotakis of having a double standard as he traveled dozens of miles just to get to the to the mountain during the lockdown — when ordinary citizens are fined for traveling short distances without a specified reason.
Commenting on the criticism, government spokesman Stelios Petsas told Skai TV, that the PM is being criticized for being “human”.
Saying that he was on personal exercise, Petsas stressed that “a Prime Minister can go anywhere for a bike tour.” He added that Mitsotakis “will never refuse a picture with any Greek he meets, or a chat,” he added.
Officials from the main opposition SYRIZA party hit back at what it described as “ridiculous excuses”.
“He broke the quarantine and was photographed hugging people without a mask and protection measures at a time when Greece records a record number of human losses every day,” SYRIZA said in a statement.
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