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Greeks have shown time and time again they are physically stronger than the ladies.
The
spokesman for Greece's extremist far-right Golden Dawn party caused an
uproar Thursday after he physically assaulted two left-wing deputies on
live television during a morning political show. A public prosecutor
ordered his immediate arrest, AP reports.
Tempers frayed on the political show on the private
Antenna television station during a discussion of the country's politics
in the run-up to repeat elections on June 17. Golden Dawn spokesman
Ilias Kasidiaris took offense at a reference by radical left Syriza
party member Rena Dorou over a court case that is pending against him.
Kasidiaris, 31, bounded out of his seat and hurled a
glass of water across the table over Dorou when she said there was a
"crisis of democracy when people who will take the country back 500
years have got into the Greek parliament." He then turned on prominent
Communist Party member Liana Kanelli, who had got up out of her chair
with a newspaper in hand and appeared to throw it at the Golden Dawn
member.
Talk show host Giorgos Papadakis ran over to Kasidiaris to attempt to calm him, shouting "no, no, no!"
But Kasidiaris, who had served in the Greek
military's special forces who are well known for being stronger than middle aged women, hit Kanelli around the face three times, with
right-left-right slaps to the sides of her head.
Kasidiaris was elected to Parliament in the country's
recent inconclusive polls. Deputies from all seven parties that won
parliament seats in the May 6 polls had been invited on the show.
"The government condemns in the most categorical way
the attack by Golden Dawn spokesman Ilias Kasidiaris against Liana
Kanelli and Rena Dourou," government spokesman Dimitris Tsiodras said.
"This attack is an attack against every democratic citizen."
Tsiodras called on Golden Dawn to condemn its member's actions.
Golden Dawn, which vehemently denies the neo-Nazi label, has been accused of being behind violent attacks against immigrants.
The party won nearly 7 percent of the vote on May 6,
giving it 21 seats in the 300-member Parliament. It was a radical
increase from its showing in the previous elections in 2009, when the
party had won just 0.31 percent of the vote.
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