Cypriot influencer Phidias Panayiotou, who unexpectedly won a seat in the European Parliament in 2024 as an independent candidate, announced that he is creating his own party called “Direct Democracy“, reported the Cypriot newspaper “Philelefteros“, quoted by BTA.
In his characteristic provocative style, Panayiotou announced his party in a video clip in which he wears a clown nose.
Decisions in the party will be made by its members directly via a special mobile application. Panayiotou also promises that if his party gets MPs into the Cypriot parliament, members will be able to use the app to decide how they will vote on important issues.
In the European Parliament elections in Cyprus, Phidias Panayiotou collected almost 20 percent of the vote and came in third place after the two main parties in the country.
He often scandalizes Cypriot political life, such as when he did an interview with the leader of the Turkish Cypriots Ersin Tatar.
Already as an MEP, he also took part in the podcast of the scandalous British influencer Andrew Tate, accused of pimping and human trafficking in Romania and the UK.
Panayiotou gained popularity with his videos on YouTube and TikTok, in which, for example, he rides without a ticket on public transport and does not pay his bills in various places around the world. There are other popular performances of a controversial nature – such as the “challenge“ in which he gives 50 euros to a person to chew a cigarette butt on the street.
After his election as an MEP, Phidias Panagiotou turned to political topics and published videos with critical content towards the European Parliament, where he often walks around in shorts and sweatshirts.