Romania's Basescu again lashes out at media

26/03/2008

Journalists are again unhappy with comments by President Traian Basescu, who recently accused them of being mouthpieces for media moguls intent on slandering him.

By Paul Ciocoiu for Southeast European Times in Bucharest – 26/03/08

Romanian President Traian Basescu says he and his family are under attack by media conglomerates. [Getty Images]

President Traian Basescu launched a new attack on March 14th against Romanian media conglomerates who, he claims, are leading a campaign against him.

Basescu addressed the media as "a husband and father, not as president" after a newspaper report accused him of having debts to a bank forgiven while he was the minister of transportation.

His criticism of the media was also triggered by a spate of recent reports that ridiculed his daughter, Elena Basescu, the newly appointed secretary-general of the Liberal Democrat party youth organisation, for language lapses she made during speeches.

Basescu later elaborated on his remarks, accusing the media of a "jukebox practice, in which you insert the euros at the beginning of the month and they speak on TV all month to the employer's satisfaction".

"This is the practice I attacked," he said, vowing to respond to all "the rubbish" aimed at his family.

The Romanian Journalists' Association (AJR) issued a press release asking Basescu to publicly apologise. It warned that if the president declined to do so in a satisfactory manner, it would support a petition demanding an official clarification, stating he wasn't referring to AJR-affiliated journalists.

"As an angered father, the president can react within the limits of his own politeness, but as president of the country, he must not forget the media is part of Romania's democratic patrimony," said the statement. It added, "The president has to protect the press."

The Romanian Press Club released a statement saying, "The press does not make carbon copies. Basescu owes part of his political ascendance to the press and he probably knows a simple truth: no one has ever won a war against journalists."

The statement also called for rationalism and professionalism on the part of the media.

Bogdan Teodorescu, a political analyst, said the president's attack is "immoral, incorrect, but perfect in terms of the communication theory." He added, "The only adversary Basescu has on the public stage is the media."

Since taking office, the president has made a series of controversial remarks about media conglomerate owners and journalists. In May 2007, a tape surfaced in which he was heard calling a TV reporter "a stinking gypsy". The comment sparked accusations of racism and sexism.