PM finally takes blame for deadly conflagration after outcry

After the public outcry over the government's apparent refusal to take any of the blame for Monday's deadly wildfire, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras belatedly took "full political responsibility" on Friday.
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"The dead cannot talk but the least we can do in their memory is to show respect for the truth. I want to take full political responsibility for the tragedy before the cabinet," he said at the start of an emergency meeting at Maximos Mansion.

"It is self-evident for the country's prime minister, and I call on you too to take it," he told his cabinet.

His remarks follow a press conference on Thursday by government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos and Alternate Citizens' Protection Minister Nikos Toskas, who claimed there were indications that arsonists were behind the fires.

Toskas also claimed there had been "no major operational mistakes" and...

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