NICOSIA, Cyprus — A Cypriot social media influencer who transformed his internet fame into a rapid-fire political rise announced Monday he will retain his position in the European Parliament, turning down a seat he won in Cyprus’ national legislature.
Fidias Panayiotou, known simply as Fidias, told reporters ahead of a ceremonial event that staying in the European Parliament would benefit his Direct Democracy party. “I’ll stay in the European Parliament because it would be good for the Direct Democracy party to have a European Parliament member,” he stated.
“We could’ve done better but we’re happy with what has happened, this is a small victory,” he added.
The 26-year-old YouTuber and TikToker kept observers guessing about his political intentions throughout his campaign, creating widespread speculation about his plans.
Fidias established the Direct Democracy party just six months ago with the goal of disrupting Cyprus’ traditional political establishment both domestically and internationally. The party’s approach allows regular citizens to participate in policy development and apply online to become candidates.
In Sunday’s parliamentary contest, Direct Democracy secured 5.4% of votes cast and claimed four positions in the 56-seat House. While Fidias received the highest vote count among his party’s nominees, he passed his seat to the second-place finisher, Yiannis Laouris.
The outcome represents a significant achievement for an organization that rejected conventional voter outreach methods and policy presentations. However, the results disappointed compared to Fidias’ earlier performance when nearly 20% of voters supported him in the June 2024 European Parliament race, despite his refusal to take policy stances, make campaign pledges, or outline governing plans.
“It seems now that people are hungry not for political positions, but for true people that are not lying, (but) saying the truth,” he explained to The Associated Press following the 2024 election.
Fidias built his following through years of attention-grabbing video content, including footage of lavish spending sprees in Vietnam, surviving a week in an airport without money, and remaining buried underground for 10 days.
His online breakthrough occurred when he persistently sought and obtained an embrace from billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, who subsequently became a supporter.
Fidias has recognized that his internet stunts provided Cypriot voters—who have grown deeply frustrated with perceived corruption in a political system built on exchanging favors for votes over decades—a method to voice their dissatisfaction.
Using digital platforms as his main communication channel, Fidias has shared European Parliament operations with supporters, explained his voting decisions on various issues, and responded to increasing criticism from those who view him and his learning-as-he-goes approach as politically immature.
He has generated significant controversy for his apparent backing of discussions with Russia regarding the Ukraine conflict and for questioning the International Criminal Court’s characterization of Ukrainian children’s transfer to Russia as “unlawful deportation.”
Sunday’s parliamentary voting showed substantial gains for the ultranationalist National Popular Front, or ELAM, party, which captured nearly 11% of votes and eight seats—an increase from just under 7% and four seats in the prior election.
