Francis Lalanne: kitsch singer-cum-eco-freak

Frenchman Francis Lalanne, 51, has perhaps travelled one of the strangest routes to the 2009 elections. The eccentric poet and composer, who is at the top of the independent ecological movement’s (MEI) list for the south west district, criticises l´Europe des politiciens (‘the Europe of the politicians’). At one stage he starred in a reality show which screened on TF1 in the mid-nineties. If elected, the ‘Jean-Claude Van Damme of green politics’  has promised to donate his entire salary to charity. Below, a cult clip in which his brother surprises him by conducting the opera which took the father-of-four fifteen years to write. Comme un pommier, il fait des pommes. J’ai fais des chansons (‘Like an apple tree creates apples . I create songs’). And now: politics!

Un candidat avec un caractère sensible

Elena Basescu: Romania’s ‘Paris Hilton’

Romania isn’t far behind as Elena Basescu, 28, daughter of president Traian Basescu and former fashion model is to run as an independent candidate. The ‘Romanian Paris Hilton’, who went to James Madison university in Virginia, is better known for her jet-setting escapades and fashion shoots than for her military record. She recently left the Romanian liberal democratic party in order to avoid being considered a ‘protégée’

Elena Basescu during a Romanian news bulletin |

Barbara Matera: beautiful Italian wallflower

In Italy, politics with a Mediterranean feel no longer has the same kick as it once did. Silvio Berlusconi, whose wife Veronica Lario publicly demanded a divorce due to her estranged husband’s appreciation of younger women on 3 May, wants to ‘modernise’ politics. The ravishing ‘candidates for candidature’, issued by the Great Man’s harem, come mainly from the world of broadcasting. The honour finally went to Barbara Matera, 27, former actress and television presenter

Barbara Matera during an Italian television broadcast |

Donala Meiželytė-Svilienė: redrafted Lithuanian pin-up

Show business has also been invited into political circles in Lithuania. The national resurrection party was created for the legislative elections of autumn 2008 by Lithuanian former television producer and politician Arunas Valinskas. Amongst his candidates for the European elections is Donala Meiželytė-Svilienė, 34, actress, singer and MP who, quite some time ago, posed naked for her album cover

Valinskas and Sviliene during a press conference |

Wojciech Olejnicz: Polish totty

Wojciech OlejniczakWojciech Olejniczak | (Wprost)In Poland, the choice of who represents the electors in the European parliament is more important than ever and candidates are prepared to do anything, as demonstrated by up and coming centre-left politician Wojciech Olejnicz. MP at 29, he recently posed for racy photos for popular magazine Wrpost

Not bad

And don’t forget:

| (Image: Soppakanuuna/ Wikimedia)Mito Repo (pictured), 50, an orthodox priest from Helsinki for the social democrats, Kostas Kyriacou, a 52-year-old farmer from Cyprus as an independent and up in Italy’s north-west, Prince Emmanuel Filiberto of Savoy for the centrist union of christian democrats party. The grandson of Italy’s last king Umberto II is also the 2009 winner of reality show Dancing with the Stars and husband of French actress Clotilde Courau