Independent MEP Fidias Panayiotou remarked he would “probably be a billionaire” had he not entered politics, presenting himself as a reluctant public figure whose online success was derailed by holding office.
Speaking in podcasts broadcast on Tuesday, Panayiotou said traditional media either “fight me or accuse me unjustly”, arguing that his preference for YouTube reflects both “his generation and his mistrust of established outlets”.
At 25, he said, he had already built an international online career with millions of followers and earnings of about €100,000 a month, before his election to the European Parliament reduced that income to around €15,000.
“If politics hadn’t won me over, I’d be like my YouTuber friends,” he said.
Elected last year as an independent, Panayiotou became the youngest Cypriot MEP and has since announced his intention to contest the May parliamentary elections with his newly rebranded party Direct Democracy of Cyprus.
Under EU and Cypriot law, a dual mandate is prohibited.
Panayiotou has said any decision on which seat he would keep would be taken “by my supporters”, a stance that has prompted legal and political criticism.
In Brussels, Panayiotou has courted controversy over foreign policy, particularly his remarks on Russia and Ukraine.
He rejected accusations that he is a “Russian agent”, saying instead that he “understands the law of the strong” and that “the strong are the Russians”.
He also said that, in regard to the Cyprus issue, “the strong are the Turks”, adding that any settlement would be unfavourable unless Cyprus is heavily armed.
His tenure has also attracted institutional scrutiny.
The European public prosecutor’s office is examining the rental of a Limassol office paid largely with European parliament funds, upon revelations the property is a four-bedroom villa with a swimming pool.
Panayiotou has denied wrongdoing, insisting the house is used as office space for filming content.
“I don’t sleep there and I’ve never swum in the pool,” he remarked, adding that he would leave the property if his voters told him to do so.
Panayiotou admitted to repeated misjudgements, attributing them to “youth and inexperience”
Among them was a widely condemned remark during a podcast suggesting unprotected sex as a solution to the demographic problem, which he later said applied only to married couples.
Earlier, he apologised for referring to athletes with intellectual disabilities as “loonies” (pelloi), a comment that triggered formal complaints and an examination under the European parliament’s code of conduct.
Panayiotou insisted he remains politically authentic.
“I will have absolutely no participation in the upcoming European parliamentary term if elected nationally,” he said.
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