Tom Hanks, wife Rita Wilson get Greek citizenship for wildfire aid
Tom Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson, were granted Greek
citizenship for their fundraising efforts for the deadly Athens wildfire in
2018.
However,
celebrations were short-lived as the country’s opposition levied criticism at Prime
minister Kyriakos Mitsotaki
for using a military helicopter to meet the couple to mark the moment.
Prime Minister Mitsotaki shared a picture of himself with wife, Mareva Grabowski-Mitsotaki, to Instagram yesterday, July 26, which showed them with Hanks and Wilson holding up their new Greek passports.
Mitsotaki captioned the post, “Rita Wilson and Tom
Hanks are now proud Greek citizens.”
The
main left-wing opposition Syriza party accused the prime minister of using
Greece’s military helicopters like a “personal radio taxi.”
However,
Government spokesman Stelios Petsas today said the Mitsokais travelled to the
island of Paros on a commercial flight Saturday, then travelled to nearby Antiparos, where Hanks and
Wilson have a holiday home. They then used a military helicopter for a trip to
the ancient theatre of Epidaurus on yesterday to watch the performance of an
ancient tragedy.
Petsas argued that Mitsotakis was performing his
duties as prime minister by attending an “important cultural event.”
Neither the government representative or the
opposition referred to Hanks by name.
