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Attacks on politicians and increasingly against members of the government in the form of popular indignation are about to become an epidemic in Greece. Two men were taken to hospital late last night after being injured during a political meeting with the Minister of Health Andreas Loverdos.
 
One of them is Dimitris Konstantopoulos, a member of the National Council of PASOK, who was hit several times with a truncheon in the head. As a result, he got concussion of the brain and was left in the hospital for treatment. The second victim is the municipal councilor Polydoros Pelekas, who was hit in the face. Eggs were thrown at some of the associates of the Minister.

The events happened shortly after the Minister of Health Andreas Loverdos and his two deputies Michail Timosidis and Christos Aydonis came to the pensioners’ club in the Athens suburb of Agioi Anargiri, where the meeting had to be held.

According to the Mayor Nikolaos Sarandis, a group of about 15 people, headed by the candidate for mayor of the left coalition SYRIZA Panagiotis Terzoglou, attacked the Minister and his associates. Dimitris Konstantopoulos lost consciousness and the Deputy Minister Michail Timosidis gave him first-aid.

In an interview with Radio Real fm the Minister said that, the events could not be defined as public reaction to the government policy. "We are talking about organised attacks. These people had come to beat up me and my associates," said Andreas Loverdos. He added that yesterday one of his voters - a resident of Agioi Anargiri - called into his office and left a message for the Minister not to go to the meeting, "because they plan to beat him."

Meanwhile, the residents of Keratea continue their local "civil war" against the state. Unknown persons destroyed the central thoroughfare Leoforos Lavriou in both directions in the early hours yesterday and opened pits 1.5 m deep. A little later, on the orders of the Athens prosecutor's office one of its members accompanied the technicians who went to repair the damage. Then the bells in Keratea tolled and the already familiar call: "Attention! Attack!" was heard from the speakers.

The residents responded immediately and went to the two road barricades that have been there for four months. The police forces that had to prevent them from getting closer to the facilities in order to be able to fill the pits got wooden sticks, stones and tens of Molotov bombs. The oil cocktails were even modified by the "rebels" in Keratea, who tied small dynamite on them to make them thunder before exploding. The police forces responded by repeated showers of tear gas, and this game of cat and mouse continued for at least five hours. The outcome of the battle between protesters and police is a large number of wounded on both sides, some of whom were taken to the hospital, and fainted from the tear gas.

Shortly after midnight, unknown persons threw Molotov cocktails in the yard of the house of a police family, living in Keratea since 1994. During the attack they were in the house with her four minor children, but there were no injuries. The fire lit burnt completely the three vehicles that were parked in front of house of the police officers. The family has no explanation for the attack against them. The man works at the police station in the suburb of Glika nera and his wife – at the passport office of the police station in Keratea.

Local authorities say they do not know the identity of those who destroyed the road.