In a recent press conference to address the topic, Prime Minister Luc Frieden has reminded the public that he is available, willing, and happy to take selfies with members of the public.
“Just like my predecessor, I’m fun, spontaneous, and I know how to smile,” he said. “Like him, I’m very capable of walking around at fairs and gatherings, getting attention from adoring strangers, and agreeing to take a photo with them in a manner that looks natural and unforced.”
The former justice minister, finance minister, and defense minister says that there is no need for anyone to have reservations about approaching him and asking for a selfie.
“You could just say ‘Har Frieden, do you mind?’ and I’ll intuitively understand what you mean,” he said. “If you haven’t got your phone with you, or if you’re worried about using up too much of your data storage, we could use my phone, and I’ll send the photo to you.”
“Or I could ask my photographer to do it for us,” he continued. “Imagine how much fun that would be, a professionally taken selfie with you and me in my office.”
Frieden said that members of the public who do take advantage of his casually made offer would then be gently encouraged to share the photograph on social media.
“You could include in your post something like, ‘guess who I bumped into today!’ or ‘wow, I got to meet Luxembourg’s prime minister who, like Bettel, is youthful, hip, and photogenic – perhaps more so.’”
“You could add a hashtag, something like #Friedeniscool or #myluckyday,” he added.
In a related story, the unofficial statistics service of Luxembourg, UNSTATEC, has issued the results of a recent survey that show the rate of selfies taken with Luxembourg prime ministers has dropped significantly recently.
“Last year at this time, 84 percent of residents reported having taken a selfie with the prime minister in the previous three months, whereas now that figure has dropped to two percent,” said a researcher from UNSTATEC.
“And 1.8 percent of those are believed to be the current prime minister’s friends, family members, and fellow CSV party members who took group photos during dinners, parties, and meetings,” she continued.
The spokesperson added that a further 0.2 percent of those who do have selfies with the prime minister are believed to be Asian or North American tourists who mistook him for English actor Jason Statham.
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Originally published by RTL Today
