Panayiotou’s upstart party won seats in Sunday’s Cypriot election — but the influencer will stay in the European Parliament instead.
MEP Fidias Panayiotou on Monday said he will remain a lawmaker in the European Parliament and decline to take the seat to which he was elected in this weekend’s legislative elections in Cyprus.
Panayiotou’s Direct Democracy group finished in sixth place, gaining four seats, as it and other anti-establishment parties performed well.
“I’ll stay in the European Parliament because it would be good for the Direct Democracy party to have a European Parliament member,” the YouTube influencer told reporters before attending a ceremony for newly elected national lawmakers in Nicosia. Cypriot law forbids legislators from simultaneously holding seats in the European Parliament and the country’s House of Representatives.
The center-right Democratic Rally party scored the most votes in Sunday’s elections, which saw the ultranationalist National Popular Front double its share of seats in the 56-member parliament.
“Fidias,” as Panayiotou styles himself, has gained some 2.6 million subscribers on his YouTube channel since he began posting in 2019. The 26-year old influencer shot to fame after embarking on a mission to hug tech billionaire Elon Musk, and in 2024 launched a successful bid to become a lawmaker in the European Parliament.
Since his election, Panayiotou has raised eyebrows with a visit to Russia and caused uproar by referring to paralympians with intellectual disabilities as “loonies.” He created the anti-establishment Direct Democracy party six months ago, and in the lead up to Sunday’s vote he regularly campaigned wearing a clown nose.
Panayiotou’s group ultimately finished in sixth place, securing four seats. “We could’ve done better but we’re happy with what has happened, this is a small victory,” he said.
Yiannis Laouris, a neuroscientist considered by some as Panayiotou’s ideological mentor — a label he rejects — will take up the seat instead.