For people in Malta and especially in villages like Qala where the surname is most concentrated, Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s surprise push through the Democratic primaries has nonetheless stirred a kind of sporting pride — a sense that any Buttigieg beyond Maltese borders deserves support, reports the Washington Post.
The report says that there are 2,850 Buttigiegs in Malta, according to the last census, one in every 170 people. A few, like Sam Buttigieg, 62, who paints roads for the government, are products of Buttigieg-Buttigieg marriages. All across the country, Buttigiegs sell insurance, teach music, install air-conditioning units and sit in parliament. And there are multiple Buttigieg mayors — not just Mayor Paul in Qala, but also Mayor Albert in the town of St. Julian’s.
Maltese tend to say there is one aspect about Mayor Pete they would not defend: his resistance to restrictions on abortion. Malta is the only European Union country that bans abortion under all circumstances. Although the country is no longer as religiously observant as it once was, Catholic influence remains strong, as does the belief that abortion is immoral. According to some polls, 90 percent of Maltese oppose abortion in the first weeks of pregnancy. For that reason alone, Mayor Pete might not be able to win an election in Malta.
