Greek Politician Pummels Rival Member of Parliament During Live Talk Show
An arrest warrant has been issued for a member of the Greek neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn after he assaulted two left-wing rivals during a live TV show.
Things went south quickly after Rena Dorou, a member of the Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) accused Ilias Kasidiaris and his far-right political party of inciting a "crisis of democracy" by threatening to "take the country back 500 years."
This, coupled with a prior reference to his alleged involvement in a 2007 armed robbery resulted in Kasidiaris throwing a glass of water in Dorou's face. Liana Kanelli of the Communist Party rushed to Dorou's aid, striking Kasidiaris with a newspaper.
The 31-year-old retaliated by smacking Kanelli across the face three times as host Giorgos Papadakis shouted for his guests to stop.
Greece is headed toward new elections this month specifically due to the fact that no coalition could be formed among the disparate minority parties that were voted in last time.
A spokesman for the government released this statement following the on-air attack:
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.
