Romanian President Traian Basescu (in picture, left) met his Facebook fans Thursday (June 6), during the ICEEFest event at Grand Cinema Digiplex in the Baneasa area of Bucharest.

During the one-hour meeting, the Romanian President talked about how he and his team use Facebook, and said that in general, all the content on his Facebook page - Alaturi de Presedintele Nostru (We stand by our President) is original and his daughter Ioana Basescu is among the people who post on this page. However, according to the President, some of the most successful posts are the pictures in which he appears with his wife.

Traian Basescu also said that he finds the feedback on Facebook or other social networks to be useful, no matter if they are positive or negative. “I don’t like the vulgar ones, but the negative, I take them as they are,” said the President, quoted by the local media. One of the things the Romanian President finds more interesting about Facebook is that everything can be measured, as Facebook makes its own evaluation and people can tell what is relevant for their friends, and what is not.

During the meeting, the President also talked about the freedom of the mass-media and the internet. “I believe in an absolutely free press, I never agreed with its regulation,” said Traian Basescu, adding that like the media, the internet has to also be free.

Among other things, the Romanian President also talked about the shale gas in Romania or the Miscarea Populara- Popular Movement NGO. A recording of the President's one-hour meeting with his Facebook fans can be found here.

Alaturi de Presedintele Nostru is a Facebook page created especially for the President’s fans, on which they regularly post Traian Basescu’s messages, speeches, photos and news about him. See the Facebook page here.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com

(photo source: Alaturi de Presedintele Nostru on Facebook)