Cyprus’ independent Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Fidias Panayiotou announced on Wednesday the launch of a new party called Direct Democracy. In a video post on social media, Panayiotou – sporting a clown’s red nose – described the news as “the biggest announcement of my life”.
The 25-year-old, known simply as ‘Fidias’, won a seat in the June 2024 European elections with 19.4% of the vote (71,330 votes), becoming Cyprus’s first elected independent MEP. Fidias offered an alternative to the rote slogans of the established parties, garnering support on social media among a younger audience while pledging to make politics “cool”.
He has previously toyed with the idea of harnessing the mass support garnered as a political ‘outsider’ but never committed to establishing a party until now. It remains to be seen what impact he may have on the Cypriot parliamentary elections in May 2026.
Anti-establishment platform
The current sentiment is one of increasing dissatisfaction and apathy towards the traditional parties, however, Fidias is not the only one running on an anti-establishment ticket. The space is getting a little crowded with the likes of ALMA, headed by former auditor-general Odysseas Michaelides, and the far-right ELAM.
And then there’s the newly formed movement Sikou Pano (Stand Up), launched in June by one-time Fidias ally, Christoforos Tornaritis. The two had a very public falling out, after Tornaritis accused Fidias of showing a lack of gratitude for his support.
Tornaritis, author of the self-help book ‘Never Surrender’, issued a call last week for ‘serious’, ‘honourable’ people with ‘gratitude’ to express interest in running in next year’s election on a Sikou Pano ticket. It remains to be seen if the movement will give up its ambitions following Fidias’ announcement or still run for a seat.
Fidias’ new party, which he has named Direct Democracy, will likely seek to capitalise on the popularity of his European elections campaign, which attracted both ‘party-affiliated’ voters and ‘unrepresented’ votes, that is, ballots cast for independents or parties failing to cross the parliamentary threshold of 3.6%.
The ‘unrepresented’ vote has gone from almost zero in 2001 to nearly 15% in the 2021 parliamentary elections, counting for 52,205 voters.
Star burning bright or fading?
Political analyst Vassilis Protopapas told Politis that he doesn’t expect the political scene to change much with the announcement of Fidias’ new party. The Fidias phenomenon has lost its dynamic and fizzled out, he said.
However, a recent poll by IMR Cyprus indicated that Fidias had a fighting chance of getting in parliament. When respondents were asked which party they would vote for in the upcoming elections, Fidias was not even an option in the poll, yet 3% selected ‘Other’ and specified that they would vote for Fidias.
In another recent poll by Pulse Market Research, 70% of respondents said they had a negative impression of him. However, that left 30% with a positive impression.
Direct democracy
On arriving in Strasbourg, Fidias pursued a ‘direct democracy’ brand of politics, asking followers to determine his political decisions in the European Parliament through online polls. Despite flirtations with the Greens and Renew political groupings, Fidias decided to remain ‘non-attached’, on the advice of his followers. However, this meant he was afforded less speaking time within the legislative body and limited influence within the parliamentary committees.
A year on, the Cypriot YouTuber-turned-politician says he has reached the conclusion that an independent politician alone cannot achieve change. As such, he has decided to seek a presence in the Cypriot parliament through the launch of a new political party that would be “completely different to the other parties”.
Everyone decides
“The aim is not to give another slap to the system but to try and change it from within,” said Fidias, speaking in the Cypriot dialect.
“The way democracy works today, the decisions are taken by those who we vote in once every five years. I believe the time has come to end this model, and to replace it with a new type of democracy, more direct, and more democratic, where every citizen can participate in the discussions, decisions and even in the votes. With these ideas, the party’s name could not be anything other than Direct Democracy.”
Fidias explained that everyone will use an app to participate in party decisions, including deciding who will be the 56 candidate deputies to run on the party ticket next May 2026. He called on anyone interested in running to do so.
Should the new party succeed in getting parliamentary representation, the same app will be used to decide together on how their deputies should vote on the important issues tabled in parliament.
In the post, the video appeared to show an example of the kind of questions that could be tabled for vote among party followers, which said: “Should the EU impose sanctions on Russia and Belarus, increasing tariffs on fertilisers?”
First time for everything
Fidias acknowledged that this kind of democracy has not been tried before and might fail.
“To tell you the truth, even I don’t have a clear picture yet as to how we will set it up and how this mechanism will operate. And of course, like all new things, there’s a big chance it will fail. But what’s certain is that it is very different to what we’re used to seeing until now.”
Concluding, Fidias said at the very least, the effort will shake things up and might even help create a new type of democracy, not only in Cyprus but possibly in the rest of the world.
The MEP ended the video assuring his followers of his feelings for them.
“I love you from the bottom of my heart and I am enthusiastic about this new beginning,” he said.
It was not clear from the video whether, should he win a seat, Fidias would give up his seat in Strasbourg to represent voters in the Cyprus parliament.
