ATHENS – They can do little but complain, but the top candidate to lead the major opposition SYRIZA and the center-left PASOK-KINAL said the New Democracy government failed in its response to wildfires.

Efi Achtsioglou, seen as the frontrunner in the race for a new SYRIZA leader to be elected in September, said that Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis “is using the climate crisis as an excuse to avoid taking any responsibility.”

He had blamed climate change as a key reason for the fires despite criticism of negligence in not clearing woodlands and arrest for arson as fires raged on the mainland as the islands of Rhodes, Evia and Corfu.

“However, the climate crisis is not an excuse; it should be the reason for a government to take action,” she said, although after 2021 fires that ravaged Evia the government in its first term boosted firefighting efforts.

“A government should implement preventive measures, be prepared, have a plan, and ensure operational efficiency in terms of resources and personnel .. the New Democracy government failed to fulfill any of these,” she said.

Achtsioglou, a former Social Security minister, also called for an investigation into the causes behind the fatal crash of a Greek Air Force water-dropping plane that killed two pilots.

“There are questions about this tragedy. The circumstances of the accident must be thoroughly examined,” she said, while extending her condolences to the families of the pilots.

PASOK-KINAL Socialist leader Nikos Androulakis said the fires on Rhodes that went on for a week were an “immeasurable environmental disaster” and also blamed the government.

“The responsibilities are huge and should be attributed. We went from the (government statement) that ‘everything is under control’ to the point where properties are lost and thousands of tourists leave from their hotels and locals evacuate their houses,” he also said.

Neither Androulakis nor Achtsioglou said what they would have done in Mitsotakis’ place as a record heat wave turned forests and woodlands into kindling and high winds propelled blazes despite firefighting efforts.