Social networks are nowadays an influential tool in the hands of the centres of political power because of their possibilities for direct and two-way communication with citizens in real time, dissemination of information, or a self-promotion and marketing. The use of social networks in the political context has become extremely important in the analysis and prediction of elections and generally in monitoring activities of politicians and public opinion. In this paper, we provide a content analysis of Facebook activities of leading European Union (EU) politicians to generate their extended individual profiles. Based on these profiles, a comparative analysis between the European Commissioners (i.e., EU ministers) and Croatian ministers is provided showing certain unexpected differences in their online behaviour. Summarizing these results, a model for prediction of online political behaviour is proposed.

social media, Facebook, content analysis, politicians, European Commission, Croatia