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Anastasia Balezdrova

The area around the headquarters of New Democracy is still closed off by the police after the shooting at the party offices, which took place at about 3 pm. They blocked the local roadway to Andreas Sigrou Avenue several minutes after the echo of gunfire. Members of the anti-terrorist forces in white suits found nine fired cartridges on the side street, where the office of the leader of the "blue" and Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is located. The police found a bullet there that had ricocheted from the ceiling to the wall and then, to the floor, and another one on the roof.

According to the information that has been announced so far, the attackers arrived at the headquarters of New Democracy by car. They passed in front of its entrance on the local roadway that lies parallel to the avenue and then, they turned onto the Doiranis side street where they stopped. Two men came out of the car and walked to the south side of the building at which they started shooting with Kalashnikov machine guns and then fled. Witnesses say the attackers were three. One of them stayed in the car, where he waited for his accomplices. The results of ballistic testing show that the attackers used a machine gun and a pistol.

The police have not yet established their identity. The authorities expect to obtain more information from the videos that the security cameras, placed both on the party headquarters building and the adjacent commercial companies, have recorded.

The window of Antonis Samaras’ office is above the plate with the logo sign of New Democracy

The leaders of the coalition partners of the "blue" - Evangelos Venizelos, Fotis Kouvelis as well as those of the Communist Party condemned the attack. According to the Greek NET public television, the leader of the main opposition SYRIZA party Alexis Tsipras, who is on a visit to Germany, called Prime Minister Antonis Samaras. After he expressed his concern about the increasing violence in recent days, he said that the investigation of the shooting should be launched rapidly in all directions.

Sources state that Alexis Tsipras is seriously concerned about the escalation of attacks in recent days, considering this situation very dangerous. However, some of the leading figures in the coalition such as the secretary of the central political commission Manolis Glezos are of a different opinion. The political veteran, who is widely known for the fact that he had removed the Nazi flag from the Acropolis during the German occupation together with his follower, said in parliament, "The left does not benefit" from the attack that happened today. He called the "blue" immediately afterwards to consider "whether the attack was not the work of parastatal parties that are friendly to New Democracy."

SYRIZA states that it is particularly concerned about the increasing number of attacks and recalls that Alexis Tsipras had expressed similar concerns as early as last September. They believe that his statement that "SYRIZA will protect the democracy in Greece from the forces of the Memorandum and the forces that bring fascism among the society" has put the dividing line between the party and the manifestations of violence.

In addition, SYRIZA has doubts about the motives of the attackers. According to the coordinator of the coalition Dimitris Vitsas, "while many serious things are happening in the country - from the tax law to the legal documents which provide lenders with state assets as guarantees, the "Lagarde List" and many others, the issue of violence is the first on the agenda ". According to him, "groups of fanatics or parastatal formations", which act to scare SYRIZA, lie behind the attack that took place today.

Many commentators conclude that the leadership of the left is trying to distinguish itself from the ideas and actions of the extreme left-wing elements and to completely separate them from the party. They give as an example an interview of Alexis Tsipras for Real FM Radio, in which he makes it clear that he is against violence and even defines the members of SYRIZA as "hosts." In the political language of Greece, this specific expression indicates the most conservative part of society that is traditionally identified with the voters of New Democracy. Analysts believe that this is not a casual "turn" and that it aims to restore the dynamics that SYRIZA has lost after the not so good results of the latest poll on the left wing.