New Democracy irked by governor dancing video

A video of the Attica regional governor, Giorgos Patoulis, dancing at an event a day after the death of two firefighting pilots in Evia and while dozens of wildfires were in progress, has gone viral on social media.

The video, which shows Patoulis dancing the zeibekiko at an event at the Zappeio Mansion in Athens, is understood to have caused intense dissatisfaction in New Democracy, with whose support he was elected to the position.

New Democracy sources “all possibilities are open” as regards New Democracy’s support for Patoulis in regional elections later this year.

Patoulis has publicly apologized for the incident, describing it as “completely wrong.”

“Yesterday I attended an event for women of the diaspora at Zappeio Mansion. Towards the end of this event and shortly before I left, some of the attendees asked me to dance with them and I completely mistakenly, as I have to admit in retrospect, responded positively to their invitation. It was a bad moment, for which I sincerely want to apologize.”