Bartolo’s granddaughter wants nannu for herself: ‘Don’t vote for Varist, so that he will retire’

Evarist Bartolo is juggling his eighth electoral campaign with his duties as foreign minister at a time when Europe faces the prospect of war in Ukraine.

But along with these duties, Bartolo has had to face an unexpected development at home when his granddaughter mounted a one-person protest urging people not to vote for him.

In a sweet Facebook post, the veteran Labour MP, who was first elected to parliament in 1992, recounted how his six-year-old granddaughter held a demonstration at home with a poster that contained the words: ‘Don’t vote for Varist, so that he retires.’

“She has long been telling me to retire so that I can stay playing hide and seek with her, take her to the playground, throw pillows at each other, run after each other or go for a rare walk in the countryside,” Bartolo wrote.

He went on to say that his granddaughter did not welcome the fact that he would be contesting the 26 March election and held a one-person demonstration at home.

Bartolo went on to describe his political career during which he was elected on the 10th and 12th districts in each and every election since 1992.

“I hope that I translated the trust placed in me by the people into something good. I am ready to continue serving the people in the coming years if enough voters do not listen to my granddaughter and vote for me in the coming election,” he said.

Bartolo, who had been toying with the idea of retiring from politics, is once again contesting the 10th and 12th districts. He was one of the longest-serving Labour MPs in the outgoing parliamentary group and served as education minister before being appointed foreign minister in 2020 when Robert Abela became prime minister.