A New Democracy MP has drawn widespread criticism, including from members of his own party, over comments he made in Parliament targeting Zoe Konstantopoulou, leader of the Course of Freedom party.
Speaking during debate on a Culture Ministry bill concerning the management and protection of cultural heritage, Dimitris Kyriazidis accused Konstantopoulou of having a “totalitarian mindset” and engaging in “systematic, continuous slanderous insults” against him and New Democracy MPs, whom he said she had described as “murderers and pedophiles.”
Kyriazidis, who represents Drama and is a former police officer, also revisited a March 2025 incident in the chamber in which he shouted at Konstantopoulou to “go have a baby.” The remark led to his expulsion from New Democracy’s parliamentary group, although he was later readmitted in October.
“I merely expressed a wish for her, and because that night was the motion of no confidence, I became an Iphigenia, in the sense of being an easy target for television ratings and audience figures,” Kyriazidis said.
The reference was to Iphigenia, the daughter of Agamemnon in Greek mythology, who was sacrificed to appease the goddess Artemis and allow the Greek fleet to sail to Troy. In modern usage, the term is often used to describe someone made a scapegoat for a wider purpose.
