Adonis Georgiades - Controversy

Controversy

Georgiadis has frequently been condemned by left-wing politicians and in the media as being sympathetic to far-right views, although he denies such characterizations as mud-slinging, and has stated that he believes in direct democracy, popular sovereignty, and referenda.

Georgiadis has also been accused by certain columnists of advocacy journalism of promoting through Ellinon Egersis books by far-right author Konstantinos Plevris ; Georgiades has countered that he sells these books like other Greek bookstores, saying that he disagrees with their content. However, he appeared to praise the book when advertising it on his TV show. Georgiades made his first appearance on Greek TV on a show presented by Plevris, as a guest.

Georgiadis has also defended the pro-fascist dictator Ioannis Metaxas, who ruled Greece from 1936 to 1941. He has praised Metaxas for resisting the Italian invasion of Greece. Georgiadis accused left-wingers of "spoiling the legacy of a man, who should be remembered as a national hero for generations to come".

Georgiadis has also disputed as a myth the mainstream version of the events of the 1973 Greek National Technical University uprising ("Polytechneio") against the military dictatorship. He has claimed in particular that what was originally a spontaneous student youth uprising was manipulated by foreign secret agents, and that in reality "there was no popular opposition to the military regime".

Georgiadis has also criticised the Jewish people and the Jewish community in a number of areas. He is on record as claiming "the Jewish people by controlling the global banking system can use it as a weapon to blackmail and control foreign countries, including Greece". Recently, especially after the Gaza flotilla raid and the strained Israel–Turkey relations, he supported the cooperation and the improvement in the relations between Greece and Israel.

Georgiadis has also accused Greek Helsinki Watch of targeting him personally and misrepresenting his views as part of their attempt to compromise Greece's good name. In addition, he has been accused by his opponents of spreading hatred against Albanian guest workers in Greece. In a his TV talk show, he warned that Albanian immigration to Greece would go as far as electing an Albanian prime minister within a couple of years. Georgiadis has frequently appeared and clashed on TV news programmes with representatives of Albanian immigrant workers; in response he has been accused of "racism".

In the same vein, Georgiadis has also been accused of fomenting anti-Islamic hatred in Greece. In his TV show he has suggested "left-wing ideology has surrendered Greece to the hands of Muslims, and other garbage like that". In the same episode, Georgiadis claimed that Athens has been transformed into a "Bangladesh" or "Taliban-land".

Georgiades has publicly condemned the popular political satirist Lakis Lazopoulos, who regularly targets Georgiades, his wife and the LAOS party on his weekly satirical television show. Georgiades' extension of an offer for a televised debate between the two men was emphatically turned down by Lazopoulos, as well as a subsequent invitation to attend Georgiades' marriage ceremony.

Read more about this topic:  Adonis Georgiades

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