Government Accused As Fires in Greece Rage for Fifth Day

As fires raged for a fifth day across Greece, the increasingly beleaguered prime minister, Costas Karamanlis, yesterday appealed to Greeks to remain united amid growing accusations that his conservative government has failed to properly tackle blazes that have left 64 dead.

With the extent of the devastation becoming ever more evident, furious Greeks accused the authorities of incompetence. Many said entire swaths of rural Greece, now dotted with the charred remains of homes, cars and animals, had become uninhabitable.

"In the name of God and Mary, do something! We've been asking for help since Friday," one caller told a TV channel from the village of Matesi in the southern Peloponnese, the region worst hit by the fires. "We can't see anything, the smoke is so thick. We can't escape any more, there is no way out. We are 40 people and we will burn," said the unidentified man.

Yesterday, authorities said more than 3,000 people had been made homeless by the blazes. Churches, schools and campsites had been turned into emergency centres, dispensing food, blankets and medicines.

Although some fires were brought under control, gale-force winds and high temperatures meant that new ones were constantly erupting, officials said. Firefighters were stretched to the limit, despite the 9,000-strong force being replenished by new arrivals from Israel.

Opposition politicians accused the government of failing to adequately coordinate efforts despite receiving aid from the European Union and other countries. With the carcasses of thousands of animals piling up across the countryside, there was also concern that epidemics might break out.

"The government has proven tragically incapable of dealing with fires," said Giorgos Papandreou, who heads the main opposition party, Pasok. "It could not save people's lives, property and homes ... it's time for Greek people to choose a strong government that can guarantee security, confidence and hope," he added, referring to the general election on September 16.

Before calling the election, six months early, Mr Karamanlis's New Democracy party had enjoyed a comfortable lead in the polls. But yesterday, as the fallout from the fires grew, the conservatives' lead had slipped to below 1 percentage point.