Foreign Minister Evarist Bartolo has passed on some political advice for US presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg: “Wear a bullet-proof vest and a crash helmet.”
The Labour politician met the Democrat on more than one occasion, when the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, visited Malta as a teenager with his father Joseph.
Mr Bartolo knew Pete’s father since the 1970s until his death in January last year. “The family would visit Malta in the summer and we have some great memories of our two families having dinner on our rooftop together.
“Afterwards, Pete and my daughters would not want to sit around and listen to adults talking, so they would go out together. So I suppose you can say that Pete has been to Paceville!”
Describes the US presidential candidate as “a kind and lovely” person, Mr Bartolo says that one of his daughters is still in touch with the man who could potentially become the leader of the free world if he is nominated as the Democrat candidate and wins November’s election.
The minister also has no doubt that his old friend Joseph Buttigieg – who grew up in Ħamrun before moving to the US – would have been extremely proud of what his son Pete has achieved to date.
You can say that Pete has been to Paceville!
“We have been following his campaign and I can see that both Pete and his father care about the same things, especially when it comes to issues around social justice. It’s a bit early in the day to call but he’s already doing better than expected.”
The openly gay 38-year-old candidate was beaten by his Democratic rival Bernie Sanders during the New Hampshire Democratic primary contest on Tuesday. Buttigieg lost by a margin of around 1.6 per cent or 4,300 votes. He narrowly won the Iowa caucus less than two weeks ago.
Offering some advice to his family friend and fellow politician, Mr Bartolo says that it is a career filled with highs and lows.
“It’s not easy being a politician in Malta, never mind in the States. It’s far from a fairytale and you need stamina and nerve. The next few months will be tough and whoever has to face Donald Trump will need to be brave since, as we’ve seen before, he wages a very hard social media campaign. I’d advise Pete to wear a bullet proof vest and a crash helmet.”