A fierce confrontation erupted during a parliamentary oversight session between Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis and Plefsi Eleftherias party leader Zoe Konstantopoulou, with the two trading insults including “fascist” and “traitor.” The no-holds-barred clash between Georgiadis and Konstantopoulou unfolded against the backdrop of the Health Minister’s attendance at a meeting with Israeli officials at the Athens Club.
Read also: Bitter clash between Konstantopoulou and Hristidis: “You were with the wolves at the Athens Club” – “What you’re doing is despicable and shameful”
How the heated confrontation between Georgiadis and Konstantopoulou began
It all started when the Plefsi Eleftherias leader accused Adonis Georgiadis of attending a “secret meeting” on October 12th, in the presence of the Israeli ambassador and Israel’s Minister of Technology. According to Konstantopoulou, the meeting, which took place at the Athens Club, was connected to the promotion of a foreign state’s interests. She demanded clarification on whether Georgiadis attended in his capacity as minister and whether he had informed the Prime Minister and the Speaker of Parliament.
Taking a jab at Georgiadis’ recent appearance in Ioannina alongside students from the ruling party’s youth wing, she remarked: “I thought I’d give you a break from your acrobatics and exclamations and ask you something serious.” She went on to stress that “an active minister secretly meeting with other party members alongside groups and actors of international Zionism and an organization aimed at promoting Zionist goals and continuing violations of international law” was unacceptable.
“You must have me confused with someone else”
At that point, the Health Minister raised the temperature of the exchange, saying: “You must have me confused with Mr. Hristidis, whom you slapped and who very wrongly tried to justify himself. Do you think I’m that kind of politician?” He rushed to clarify that the meeting was not “secret,” adding that it was an event with 200 invited guests held in the centre of Athens. “A secret meeting with 200 guests in central Athens could only exist in a sick mind,” he said pointedly, questioning whether the absence of a related social media post was grounds for accusation.
He also noted that he had not informed either Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis or Parliament Speaker Nikitas Kaklamanis about his attendance, adding that he needed no one’s permission. He went on to defend the strategic relationship between Greece and Israel, tracing its origins back to the government of George Papandreou in 2010, and citing Israel’s stance on the Turkey-Libya maritime memorandum and cooperation on the electricity interconnection with Cyprus.
“Holocaust denier”
Tensions escalated even further when the Plefsi Eleftherias leader called the Health Minister a “fascist” and reiterated that he was “a denier of the Holocaust, the victims of the Athens Polytechnic uprising, and the genocide in Gaza,” adding that Georgiadis had previously sold antisemitic books by Konstantinos Plevris. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not escape her criticism either, as she claimed he was a friend of Georgiadis and vowed to do everything in her power to hold him accountable.
“I am taking criminal action against you in this session, and you’d better take note of that,” she told Adonis Georgiadis directly, arguing that he had contradicted himself. The statement provoked a furious response from Georgiadis. “What did you just do? Threaten to put me in prison? Should I burst into tears?” he shot back, adding: “Who do you think you are, madam? The national prosecutor?” The personal attacks continued, with Georgiadis declaring that the national interests of Greece and Israel “are absolutely aligned.” “I’m the fascist — and aren’t you the traitor of Greece?” he fired back, arguing that her opposition to the bilateral relationship amounted to betrayal.
“Fearless,” the Plefsi Eleftherias leader quipped in response, as the Health Minister pressed on with his personal attacks: “Who destroyed your character and turned you into such a lunatic?” Turning her own “fascist” label back on her, he accused her of speaking rudely to her colleagues and threatening them, and took the opportunity to remind her that when she resigned as Speaker of Parliament, parliamentary staff made no effort to hide their relief.
