Other words to love each other… This could summarize the video released this week by the 24-year-old Cypriot MEP Fidias Panayiotou, announcing his collaboration with Turkish Cypriot YouTuber Ibrahim Beycanli, known as “Urban Cypriot.” The hallmark of this collaboration, with an unknown goal and other unknown elements, is a hug at the Ledra Street checkpoint that divides Nicosia in two.
The first sign of their work together is the “this side” and “that side.” Ibrahim Beycanli, referring to the occupied areas, talked about the “northern side” of the island, and Fidias Panayiotou, apparently not to offend his partner, referred to the “this side.” Both spoke about mutual killings, with Beycanli starting from 1964 and Panayiotou from 1974, when “the Turkish army occupied 38% of the island.”
With both having no significant connection to politics, it’s hard to determine the purpose of their collaboration. However, those who are enthusiastic about Greek and Turkish Cypriots hugging each other were quick to applaud the MEP’s initiative, who since his election, often attracts attention for the wrong reasons, not for his political activities.
“We see and do”
It seems unlikely that the two self-proclaimed most famous Cypriots “in the North and the South” have a specific action plan since Fidias Panayiotou previously told the Cypriot newspaper “Phileleftheros” that his philosophy is “we see and do.”
Those who speculate that this initiative aims to attract new followers, with all the implications this might have on their income from the platforms where they upload their content, aren’t considered malicious.
In any case, this collaboration has puzzled many since the Cypriot MEP recently revealed in interviews that he participated in events organized by ELAM (Golden Dawn Cyprus), which doesn’t have the best opinion of Turkish Cypriots and opposes any contact with them.
Children of missing persons without a hug
Despite frequently expressing love for everyone in his videos, with hugs, forming hearts, and blowing kisses, Fidias Panayiotou wasn’t particularly affectionate with the children of missing persons. When they approached him at an event at the Presidential Palace to ask for his help in promoting the issue of missing persons from the Turkish invasion, he told them he couldn’t do anything and explained that they weren’t the only ones who grew up without a father.
In response to their shock at his behavior, the MEP told one woman who has a missing father, “You think too highly of yourself… I also have a missing uncle, but I don’t act like this.” After facing a storm of criticism, Feidias Panayiotou appeared several days later to claim that political parties were attacking him. Instead of apologizing, he stated that “all the parties are against us and trying to tarnish our name.” However, he admitted that “I said two or three more words than necessary, apologized, and left.”
“I’m only 24 years old”
Any criticism aimed at Fidias Panayiotou is usually met with the response: “I’m only 24 years old, I make mistakes, and I will learn.” For many, this response is satisfactory, while for others, it seems more like an excuse. If he tries to justify his behavior in Syntagma Square when he was handing out 50-euro notes to minors for jumping into the fountain and chewing cigarette butts off the pavement, one might recognize the immaturity of youth. However, when it comes to the Cyprus issue, things change.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Nicosia assured us that there was no communication or even a briefing from Fidias Panayiotou about his intentions, and he didn’t seek guidance on aspects of the Cyprus problem that he may not know.
As for transparency…
Although he promised to bring transparency to his work in the European Parliament, it has been elusive. Soon after, the European Parliament went on summer break, and Fidias went to Italy to surprise a girl, who is also involved in social media and aspires to be an influencer. Some sites suggest that this relationship is more than professional, but transparency only went as far as a joint croissant taste test on TikTok.
Absence from voting
In the first plenary session of the new European Parliament, Fidias Panayiotou chose to hitchhike from Brussels to Strasbourg because, as he said, he likes to stay connected with the people. With him was his collaborator, Nikos Loukas, whom he affectionately calls “Lukaniko.”
Two significant votes were held in the first plenary session, and in both, he voted blank and abstained. He did not support Metsola for the European Parliament presidency, nor did he approve of the resolution supporting Ukraine, as he believed it was a resolution to continue the war. For the approval of Ursula von der Leyen’s choice, Fidias Panayiotou sought the help of his followers, who indicated through a TikTok poll that they did not want her. Regarding the followers, he presented some percentages that no one can verify without knowing their ages, countries of origin, whether they are real people, etc.
In the remaining votes, he also abstained because he found it unacceptable that no time was given for study.
