ATHENS — Main opposition SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance leader Alexis Tsipras on Wednesday announced that his party is walking out during the vote on the integration of a European directive on the audiovisual media into Greek law, in his address to the parliament plenary.

Tsipras also sternly attacked the government over the way it handled the cold front, noting that "the average citizen has started to experience the state's inability to protect him in the slightest from difficulties". He also said that the much-touted executive state "has been buried under the snow and the state mechanism has paralysed".

He also accused the government of taking advantage of the pandemic and the adverse weather conditions to 'secretly' vote for "golden boy salaries" in the state broadcaster ERT and gifts to private TV owners, adding that there is no reason for his party to remain in parliament for the voting process.