Kasselakis, during his opening speech, addressed criticism about his marriage to Tyler Macbeth and the exposure of his personal life. He made an indirect accusation of homophobia against Polakis, stating, “Pavlos made a post talking about lifestyle nonsense, so I must say a few words.

Dear Pavlos, you frequently post photos of your family, your fishing trips, your uniform on social media, and that’s your choice. But where does lifestyle begin and end? Is it not lifestyle because it’s of the ‘masculine school’?”

Επειδή ο Παύλος έκανε μία ανάρτηση που μιλούσε για lifestyle μασκαριλίκια, οφείλω να πω δυο λόγια.

Αγαπητέ Παύλο, ανεβάζεις στα μέσα κοινωνικής δικτύωσης φωτογραφίες με την οικογένειά σου, τα ψαρέματά σου, τη στολή σου συνεχώς. Και καλά κάνεις, είναι επιλογή σου.
Πού αρχίζει… pic.twitter.com/cKzmqoUsJd

— Stefanos Kasselakis – Στέφανος Κασσελάκης (@skasselakis) September 7, 2024

He continued: “I, my friend Pavlos, am the same person whether I’m at sea level or above 300 meters altitude. I don’t choose my actions based on circumstances. Because, as you wrote, it’s not a ‘personal choice’—it’s my life. And being left-wing means celebrating each person’s uniqueness and thus bringing equality to society. So, what really bothers them? Is it the supposed lifestyle?

Πολάκης στην ΚΕ: Έκανα λάθος για τον Κασσελάκη. Καλό παιδί αλλά δεν κάνει για αρχηγός. Η υπερπροβολή της εικόνας του καλύπτει την πολιτική του θέση. Δεν είμαι ομοφοβικός αλλά διαφωνώ ακόμα με το νσχ για τα ομόφυλα ζευγάρια και την τεκνοθεσία. Και εγώ ανεβάζω τη μηχανή και τα… pic.twitter.com/uk2o8DreT0

— Georghy Zhukov (@GeorghyZhukov) September 7, 2024

Or is it the fact that I’m young, a foreigner, the ‘American guy,’ the gay guy, the one who doesn’t fit in, who doesn’t have the ‘credentials of leftism,’ the one who worked at Goldman Sachs?”

In response to the lifestyle criticism, Polakis took the stage and defended himself, arguing that his posts are overwhelmingly political. He accused Kasselakis of overshadowing SYRIZA’s political positions with the excessive focus on his personal life. “People see Stefanos, but they don’t hear him,” Polakis remarked. He added, “I was the first, on August 15, to say I support Stefanos. I have no homophobic tendencies, as some are trying to attribute to me.”

Polakis also pointed out that he never brought his wife, Dora, on stage during his election speeches, unlike Kasselakis, who had Tyler Macbeth with him. He further expressed his opposition to adoption by both same-sex and heterosexual couples, stating that he would only support adoption by heterosexual couples under specific conditions.

You can see Polakis’ response here: