Mother of Greek train crash victim launches political party
Maria Karystianou says the new party will press for transport safety, anti-corruption measures and wider reforms after the Tempi crash killed 57 people.
- On Thursday, Maria Karystianou, a doctor, launched the 'Hope for Democracy' party in Thessaloniki, seeking to harness public frustration against Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' government.
- Karystianou emerged as a leading campaigner following the 2023 Tempi train crash that killed 57 people, including her 20-year-old daughter Marthi, deepening mistrust of Greece's political class.
- A survey by Alco pollsters for Alpha TV this month found 15% of respondents would consider voting for the party, which promises transport safety, health, and education reform.
- With Greece heading toward elections in the coming 12 months, opinion polls suggest the new party could enter parliament and help fill a void in the fragmented opposition.
- Prime Minister Mitsotakis' New Democracy party polls at 23% to 29%, while Karystianou frames her political inexperience as an advantage against opponents engaged in systemic 'cockfights.
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Athens - "Mother Tempa", as Maria Karistiana, the mother of one of the 57 victims of the Larissa train accident, has been called, after three years of fighting for truth and justice at the head of the Association of Victims' Families, this time continuing her journey through political waters by founding the Hope for Democracy party.
Mother of Greek train crash victim launches political party
Maria Karystianou, a doctor whose daughter died in Greece's worst train crash in 2023, launched a political party on Thursday as she seeks to harness widespread frustration against Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' government.
From Tempi Tragedy to Politics: Maria Karystianou Launches New Political Party in Greece
Maria Karystianou launched the political party from Thessaloniki. Credit: AMNA/Achilleas Chiras Maria Karystianou, who lost her 19-year-old daughter Marthi in the 2023 Tempi train disaster and later became the symbol of a nationwide movement demanding justice and accountability, has formally entered Greek politics with the launch of her new political party, “Hope for Democracy.” Speaking to a packed audience at the Olympion theater in Thessaloni…
The key points of the Founding Declaration include the issues of transparency, the establishment of a true rule of law, health, education, support for young people and vulnerable social groups.
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