Elena Băsescu

Elena Băsescu, sometimes referred to as EBA, (born 24 April 1980) is a Romanian politician who served as the former secretary general of the youth wing of Romania's Democratic Liberal Party She has a degree in economics. Elena Băsescu stood as a candidate for the European Parliament in the 2009 election. She had sought to stand as a candidate for her father's Democratic Liberal Party, but was rejected by the party, in particular by intellectuals like Alina Mungiu-Pippidi, so she ran as an independent. ), but subsequently dropped to 5 or 6% shortly before the election. During the campaign she caused some controversy after declaring herself in favor of legalizing marijuana use. Prior to her election journalists discovered that some members of the Democratic Liberal Party were instructed to vote for her in order to secure her election. She immediately rejoined the Democratic Liberal Party after she was elected to the European Parliament, and subsequently is also a member of the European People's Party. Due to Elena's support for marijuana legalization and allegations of nepotism, Hungarian MEP László Surján questioned her entry into the EPP group in an email sent to all EPP members.

Personal and political image Oana Lungescu, a Romanian BBC reporter, described her in 2009 as a "sexy celebrity" and the "Paris Hilton of Romania" because she is "known to be more interested in parties than party politics", and notes that "video clips of her verbal gaffes are internet hits." Similarly, L'Express described her as having had to "face accusations of nepotism and incompetence, fuelled by her series of gaffes and grammatical blunders". Elena Băsescu considered herself and her father defamed by the article, described Mutler as "politically partisan", and stated that Romania's public image has been damaged as a result of Mutler's writing. She also took offense at Mutler's own description that she "prances down the catwalk, goes clubbing until the wee hours and mangles her grammar", pointing out her degree in banking and finance, the fact that she had quit modeling two years before running for an EP seat, and described her own presence in clubs as characterized by "decent behavior, without affecting in any way those around her."

Elena Băsescu's association with Monica Iacob Ridzi, who has been accused of embezzlement before she resigned as Youth Minister in 2009, was exploited by Romanian media critical of Traian Băsescu, such as Realitatea TV. Traian Băsescu accused media hostile to him, in particular that owned by Sorin Ovidiu Vântu, of trying to promote guilt by association, by repeatedly broadcasting these images.

European elections Election Votes Percentage MEPs Position Political group 2009 204,280 4.22% EPP