Mitsotakis lashes out at govt after latest high-profile crime

Main opposition New Democracy (ND) leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Wednesday again vilified the leftist Greek government over the issue of public safety in the recession-plagued country, a day after an armed bank robbery off one of Athens' main boulevards lasted for approximately two hours.

The latest high-profile crime witnessed silicon-masked assailants making off with 60,000 euros and comfortably drilling through 21 safe deposit boxes and emptying their contents before fleeing unnoticed in the hot mid-day Athens afternoon.

Mitsotakis' criticism also followed a string of recent vandalism of churches and even a firebombing attack on the Orthodox Church of Greece's unguarded headquarters in the upscale and centrally located Kolonaki district, an attack blamed on self-styled "anti-state" urban guerrillas.

"Greek society demands public safety... something that Mr. (Alexis) Tsipras (the Greek premier) and (ruling) SYRIZA's resurrected groupings cannot guarantee," the former minister charged.

Mitsotakis' reference to "groupings" relates to more radical positions aired this past week by a handful of leftist party cadres and even MPs in support and solidarity to a pair of fugitives allegedly involved in a violent of strain anti-state and anarchist-related actions over the past decade.

"As long as they (government) 'wink' at the anti-state activists and squatters, the more the chain of illegal actions, vandalism and violence continues."

He also said ND is committed to an "absolute restoration" of a sense of security for citizens, something he said will be a priority for a ND government.

A reaction to Mitsotakis' stinging criticism came from "government sources", with statements disseminated by state-run media claiming that the former is merely following a "well-known and failed recipe known as 'law and order'." The same unnamed sources said this tactic "has been condemned by the people."