The European elections have delivered the results of the electoral round. Among those elected to the benches of the EU Parliament, some figures appear strange, unlikely or unpredictable, such as the motorcyclists’ party or a YouTuber who had never been interested in politics before running for office.
The Cypriot YouTuber
Fidias Panayiotou (24 years old), present on all the major social platforms, was elected in Cyprus. His 2.6 million followers on YouTube helped him win votes, a figure greater than the entire population of the island state where he comes from. Since 2019 he has published various contents including a series of bizarre challenges such as “survive for five days without sleeping”, “live for free at the airport for ten days” or how to “hug Elon Musk”. The young YouTuber collected an unexpected amount of votes, almost 15%, thus obtaining one of the six seats reserved for Cypriots.
The candidacy was announced last January, accompanied by these words: “I have never voted in my life: one evening I said to myself that if I never vote and I never care, there will always be the same nerds in power and so I said ‘enough'”, Panayiotou had informed his followers, who were also very active on Tik Tok and Intsagram. The young man presented himself on the lists as an independent “because I don’t want to adapt to the mold and to demonstrate that I have no party interests”. Although he lacks a real “electoral program”, Panayiotou won the vote especially of young voters. One of his objectives was precisely to push them to participate more in the public life of their country. A goal achieved. We will need to understand what will change for him once he arrives in the corridors of Brussels, where parliamentary activity is very technical and involves dozens of votes. A completely different pace compared to the smart times of social media.
For the corrupt “the party is over”
Another surprise comes from Spain, where the far-right Vox gained third place in the Iberian electoral ranking, behind the centre-right polar party and the socialists of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s PSOE. The character we are talking about, however, is a true outsider. His name is Luis ‘Alvise Pérez’, he is originally from Seville and at just 34 years old he won a seat with his party “Se Acabà la Fiesta” (The Party is over). Three seats were won thanks to overbearing rhetoric, capable of fascinating 800 thousand voters and winning over those disillusioned with traditional Spanish politics. Pérez managed to gnaw away votes from the far-right Vox party, led by Santiago Abascal, Giorgia Meloni’s ally in Europe. “I’m not about to reform anything, I’m about to blow up the system,” said Pérez, who works as a political analyst and consultant. His goal, he claims, is to “prosecute corruption and criminals”, as well as “mercenaries, pedophiles and rapists”, of which Spain would be full in his vision. However, it is not enough to make them resign, otherwise they will “flee to the Dominican Republic”.
The only destiny he conceives is that of prison. His entry into Spanish political life is cataloged by the local media as “surprising” and the result of a new phenomenon, which political analysts are trying to interpret. While the experts reflect, he acts. In just four days Pérez claimed to have managed to obtain 136 thousand signatures of support, a number far higher than the 15 thousand needed to participate in the European elections. In addition to the strong presence on social media, the strength of word of mouth was essential. During the campaign, conducted while traveling in a black van, he distributed over two million ballot papers with the logo of his political group: a squirrel with the mask from the film “V for Vendetta”, based on the famous graphic novel by Alan Moore. What will he do in Strasbourg? The ushers of the European Chamber are already trembling at the thought.
Motorcyclist riding in Brussels
Engines will be heard roaring in Piazza Altiero Spinelli in Brussels as Filip Turek’s motorcyclists’ party arrives. It is a Eurosceptic group that contests European climate policies. Too many limitations for lovers of racing cars on two wheels. At the European elections, thanks to a coalition with the protest party Oath, they jointly took third place in the European elections with 10.3%. Turek, 38, a car collector and former racer from the Czech Republic, has also become popular on social networks thanks to a “petrolhead” image and his calls to reshape Europe. However, behind this harmless image lies a past that needs to be verified. Czech police investigated him because of photos in which he used the Nazi salute a few years ago. Other activities would also suggest sympathy for the Nazis. At the moment there are no official accusations against him and he denies everything, claiming that his “tasteless” but humorous gestures were misunderstood. Taking into account the dark wave that the polls have delivered to Europe in this difficult electoral round there will be a real response.
