Greece has had plenty of legendary battles: the Spartan Revolt, the Peloponnesian War, and Zeus’ clash with the Titans. This one is more of the made-for-TV variety.
During a political debate being broadcast live to the country, Ilias Kasidiaris, 31, a Greek politician and member of the extreme-right Golden Dawn party assaulted his two female left-wing opponents, and was immediately issued an arrest warrant for his actions.
Tempers flared on the Greek morning show as the angry politicians battled it out (verbally, at first) in a debate over the beleaguered country’s political situation in the lead-up to new elections later this month.
At one point, Kasidiaris shouted across the table at Rena Dorou, a Syriza party member, when she referred to a court case pending against him for his alleged involvement in an armed robbery in 2007. Kasidiaris then shot out of his seat and chucked a glass of water at Dorou when she said there’s a “crisis of democracy when people who will take the country back 500 years have got into the Greek parliament.”
Communist Party member Liana Kanelli, seated to Kasidiaris’ left, responded by leaping to her feet and throwing a newspaper at the Golden Dawn member. Enraged, Kasidiaris then hit Kanelli three times in the face amid screams of “No, no, no!” from Giorgos Papadakis, the flustered host.
Dimitris Tsiodras, a spokesman for the Greek government, which has been unable to form a coalition since recent elections saw a large number of members of radical minority parties elected to parliament, condemned the all-too-public assault:
“The government condemns in the most categorical way the attack by Golden Dawn spokesman Ilias Kasidiaris against Liana Kanelli and Rena Dourou … This attack is an attack against every democratic citizen.”
The Greek public was likely watching the spectacle with horror, taking it as yet another sign of just how far their once-mighty country has fallen.
(MORE: When Lawmakers Attack)