Polakis kicked out of parliamentary group after a broadside too many

It was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. Controversial MP and ex-minister Pavlos Polakis, notorious for his attacks on friend and foe alike, has behaved much worse than he did Thursday during a session of the Parliamentary Committee on Social Affairs. But what he did was enough to make SYRIZA leader Stefanos Kasselakis exclude him from the main opposition party's parliamentary group, shortly before it met to discuss group issues.

This time, Polakis accused a lawyer, an aide to Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis, of acting disrespectfully. "Don't make faces, madam. Yes, I'm talking to you, you are wearing a permanent, I wouldn't say smile, but a dismissive twisting of the mouth. Don't do that. You've done it before and it gets on my nerves," Polakis said.

MPs from all political parties came to the defense of the woman under attack. SYRIZA MP Athina Linou...