2024-04-24 12:48:01
Journalist and presenter Dimitris Papanotas was excluded from the SYRIZA European ballot by a decision of Stefanos Kasselakis following the reactions caused by his statements regarding the abuse of women and gender-based violence.
“It is with regret that I am forced to exclude Dimitris Papanotas from the European ballot. I know that he issued a corrective statement, but the matter he referred to is highly sensitive and cannot be discussed. Especially for the party that has human rights and equality at its forefront”, says the president of SYRIZA-P.S.
I completely respect the decisions of the members and friends of SYRIZA who – for the first time, with my own commitment – chose our MEP candidates themselves. But there are cases when the President must intervene in order not to “load” responsibilities elsewhere by washing his hands.
— Stefanos Kasselakis (@skasselakis) April 18, 2024
A little while earlier, Sofia Bekatorou had made a statement. “I hope the party will stand as it should. To make the right move”, said the Olympic gold medalist and SYRIZA MEP candidate speaking on Parapolitik radio.
The first reaction of D. Papanotas
Journalist Dimitris Papanotas spoke of a “shallow way of thinking”. “It is a great victory won by Mr. Adonis Georgiadis, the ND. in general, the New Left, PASOK and all the others at the expense of SYRIZA. I congratulate them for the shallow way of thinking with which they dealt with the issue and I am sincerely sorry”, said Dimitris Papanotas, in his first public statement after Stefanos Kasselakis’ announcement.
“I’m happy on the other hand because when you enter an arena to fight and the conditions are not suitable, it’s good to leave very early,” he noted, saying that since Wednesday he had contacted high-ranking party officials: “I told them, if you don’t have the guts to face the attacks I’m sure to receive, because I’m a candidate who’s always in the center of attention, then I’ll resign. They told me, no Dimitris, we are on your side.”
“They don’t want my help, it doesn’t matter,” he commented, characterizing his deletion as an insult not only to him but also to those who voted for him.
The disputed statement
It is recalled that in recorded statements that were broadcast on television in the previous days, Mr. Papanotas is heard saying that the women of Greece and the European Union do not have any problems, unless “if they want to have (s.s. problem). If she gets a satrap who abuses her too, she doesn’t talk, she sits and tolerates it, so it’s her problem.”