We "should be outraged at the wretched traffickers, as much as we are shocked by the tragic migrants' shipwreck," New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis told people at Githio on Saturday.

But, he noted, "we are even more disappointed with those who, on top of this tragedy, once again found an opportunity, instead of turning their attention to the traffickers, to denounce -essentially- their own country and the Coast Guard, which made a commendable effort to save hundreds of people in extremely difficult conditions."

The truth is, he pointed out, "that it was us who crushed the human traffickers," having implemented a policy on refugees that is "fair, strict, with border surveillance and a solid guarding policy," adding that this was a policy "which resulted in a 90% reduction in illegal entries into our country."

This way, "we did not only protect our borders," he added, "we didn't just rid our islands of structures with tens of thousands of refugees and migrants," but "in the end, we saved lives this way. Because the fewer people at sea, the less chance there is of a tragic shipwreck like the one that happened a few days ago."

Therefore, "we basically crushed the traffickers, protected our borders, protected the borders of Europe, and we simultaneously saved thousands of people who were in danger at sea."

On the upcoming runoff national elections on June 25, Mitsotakis urged young people anew to go and vote "before they hit the beach."

Mitsotakis in Sparta

At the former premier's next stop in the city of Sparta, he asked for a strong mandate by the people so as to form "a stable government that can implement all the necessary reforms the country needs."

He also noted that by 2026 the city will have the country’s most technologically advanced hospital, by donation of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, and he mentioned mass hirings of medical staff in the region's national health system infrastructure.

In addition, Mitsotakis said that one of the big challenges of the next four years is how to install more green - solar and wind - technologies "mainly for our farmers, so that we can reduce the cost of production."