A decision by conservative New Democracy party MEP Fredi Beleri, whose past has been controversial, to support independent Cypriot MEP Fidias Panayiotou – a popular YouTube prankster – for Vice-Chairman of European Democracy Shield, a new European Parliament special committee, has sparked reactions both within and beyond the ND party.
Beyond Beleri’s backing, Panayiotou, 24, also received support from US high-tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, whom he has met. Musk shared a video posted by Panayiotou on the American’s X platform, announcing his candidacy for the Vice-Chairman position in his signature energetic style. The American entrepreneur and ally of US President Donald Trump commented: “Vote for Fidias. He is smart, super high-energy, and genuinely cares about you!”
MEP Kostas Arvanitis, a member of the leftist Syriza party, criticized Beleri’s support of Panayiotou on X, saying: “A partnership between New Democracy and the far-right in favor of Musk in the European Parliament.” He further described Panayiotou as “Musk’s representative in the EU and a fanatical supporter of the American tech entrepreneur.”
Beleri, an ethnic Greek born in Albania, was recently released from prison following a conviction for vote-buying in a municipal Albanian election. Explaining his decision to support Panayiotou, he stated: “There was no candidate from the European People’s Party. I chose to support the independent Cypriot MEP, Fidias Panayiotou, based solely on his Greek origin and nothing more. Mr. Arvanitis’s complexes neither affect me nor concern me.”
New Democracy MEP Eliza Vozemberg stepped in, describing Beleri’s support of Panayiotou as a “personal choice” that “does not align with the political stance of the New Democracy Eurogroup.”
Panayiotou, who has more than 2.6 million subscribers, garnered the third-largest number of votes with 19.4% in last June’s European Parliament election, despite having no political experience.
Last year, Panayiotou sparked outrage in Japan and was forced to apologize after posting a YouTube video in which he dodged train fares and skipped out on a five-star hotel breakfast bill.