Observers say, conservative Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis — who had looked on course to comfortably win a second term — may pay a heavy price.

Four people — three station masters and a rail supervisor — are facing multiple charges over the head-on collision on February 28 and could be jailed for life.

The accident “will have an impact on the government, as it has political and ethical responsibility”, Stella Ladi, who works at Panteion University in Athens and Queen Mary University of London, told AFP.

Main opposition leader Alexis Tsipras said on Friday the government had not paid any heed to their repeated warnings over the past two years.

After the train crash, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis vowed “absolute transparency” in the investigation and assumed responsibility for the incident, the worst ever happened in the country.

The former left-wing prime minister Tsipras also accused the government of trying to dodge its responsibilities, after Mitsotakis said that past ruling parties should also share the blame. Mitsotakis asked the Supreme Court of Justice to give top priority to the criminal proceedings related to the incident and to open an investigation at the highest level to shed light on the incident.

But thousands of protesters gathered a few days ago in front of the National Assembly (Parliament) tossed Molotov cocktails and called for accountability from the Executive.

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