"Do You Know Who I Am?"... Politician Causes Disturbance After Missing Flight Due to Tardiness

Refused Boarding, Assaulted Staff, Tried to Seize Phone
Despite Controversy, Declares No Resignation from Assembly Position

A ruling party lawmaker in Greece was ultimately expelled from the party after assaulting an airport employee when he was denied boarding due to arriving late at the airport. On the 3rd (local time), Yonhap News, citing foreign media including the AP, reported that the ruling New Democracy Party (ND) expelled MP Lefteris Avgenakis. Earlier this month, he was accused of assaulting an airport employee and attempting to seize the employee's phone after being refused boarding on a domestic flight to Crete at Athens International Airport.

Assemblyman Abgenakis (center in the photo) initially denied using physical force on the staff, claiming it was only a verbal argument. However, after a video of the incident was released on social media, he belatedly issued an apology.
Photo by EPA Yonhap News

Regarding the controversy, MP Avgenakis denied using physical force, claiming he only had a verbal argument with the employee. However, after a video of the incident was released on social media, he issued a belated apology. This disciplinary action followed Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s recommendation for expulsion from the party. Mitsotakis strongly criticized him, stating that an attitude of "Do you know who I am?" is unacceptable from a prime minister. Konstantinos Tasoulas, the Speaker of the Parliament, also condemned Avgenakis’s behavior as intolerable and banned him from attending legislative sessions for two weeks.

The airport union claimed that Avgenakis threatened the employee who blocked his boarding by saying, "I will have you transferred," and when other employees intervened, he shouted, "Don’t touch me, I have parliamentary immunity." The union added that before the boarding deadline, employees called Avgenakis three times over the public address system, but he did not appear.

With Avgenakis’s expulsion, the ND’s seats in the 300-seat Greek Parliament decreased by one to 157 seats. However, Avgenakis stated he would not resign from his parliamentary position. Previously, until last month, he served as Minister of Agriculture and has faced criticism for spending 6,000 euros (approximately 8.95 million KRW) on floral decorations for his parliamentary office and for taking a painting that was hanging in the ministerial office. As the controversy grew, the Greek prosecution launched an investigation into Avgenakis on charges including assault, obstruction of public service, and damage to public property.