SYRIZA drops candidate over controversial comments on women
SYRIZA leader Stefanos Kasselakis has removed a journalist and presenter from the party’s list of candidates for the June European Parliament elections following controversial statements by the latter 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 statement correcting his views, but the matter he referred to is highly sensitive and is not up for discussion, especially for a party that puts human rights and equality to the fore,” Kasselakis said.
In comments that were aired in recent days, Papanotas, who had a regular slot on a morning TV show on Alpha TV, said: “I don’t see that women in Greece and the EU in general have a problem, unless they want to have one. If she gets a controlling type who abuses her too, and she doesn’t talk about it, and she sits there and tolerates it, it’s her problem.”
His comments were widely condemned across the political spectrum, including from within SYRIZA.
Reacting to his removal from the ballot, Papanotas said that “if they [SYRIZA] don’t want my help, it doesn’t matter,” adding that it was not only an insult not only to him but also to those party supporters who voted for him in the primaries.
Kasselakis will present his party’s list of candidates on Friday evening.
