I can only smile at the reaction of Nationalist Party exponents, including in yesterday’s Talking Point, in defence of women’s rights and all the nonsense about me being a woman hater and a male chauvinist pig.

My track record in civil rights, divorce legislation, the introduction of civil unions and the gender identity Bill, gender equality and the fight against domestic violence needs no endorsement from the PN. I and, indeed, this government were elected with such a majority also because the PN in government failed to tackle these and other important issues.

Curiously, I didn’t see Caroline Galea, the vice president of the casually named MNPN, giving a hand when debates concerning such civil rights were being raised while the PN was in government. Not that these issues were ever given priority in the first place, because most of them ended up on shelves gathering dust while people outside desperately waited for their rights.

It’s all nice and merry talking about this right and that right but this feigned concern over women’s rights falls far short of what was actually done by the PN over such civil rights in the past years. I guess the MNPN wasn’t around at the time.

The PN exponents would have served their party and the country better had they dwelt on the real need of the party to renew itself in an authentic manner. The Opposition seems to have no regrets over their stand on the divorce debate, on their disapproval of the civil unions Bill, on the cases of corruption during their time in government, on their position vis-à-vis the oil scandal and on maladministration in general during the latter years of their time in government.

Can you really take Tonio Fenech seriously today when he speaks of financial management, when so much corruption was taking place at Enemalta?

Can you take George Pullicino seriously today when he speaks of sustainable development when we know how our environment has deteriorated in the last 25 years?

In politics we are not judged on what we wear or what we pretend to bebut on what we do

How can you take Simon Busuttil seriously when he speaks of political responsibility, when he and his colleagues made a fortune from government direct orders under PN governments and showed no regrets about how the PN ran this country?

The problem with the PN is its lack of credibility, which peaked when they did not vote in favour of civil unions, further highlighting the unspeakable divide within the party between conservative and liberal forces. If a party cannot even decide its vision internally, how can it expect to provide one for the country?

My track record speaks volumes on where my priorities lie. We have introduced co-education in all State middle schools, free childcare services and we have started the breakfast club to help get women back to work. This government has introduced many other family-friendly measures and not only in the education and employment spheres.

The PN is a party that is happy to express horror over a metaphor in a Sunday speech but is not ready to fight for actual civil rights. This is what I meant when I said that after running a brothel for 25 years you cannot expect to become a virgin. This is not show business, where you can recreate yourself five times before you hit 30. This is politics and we are not judged on what we wear or what we pretend to be but on what we do.

I end this by repeating what I said yesterday in Parliament. As politicians we cannot take ourselves too seriously, because, contrary to what we may believe, not everyone out there lives and breathes politics.

We need to learn to find some humour in what we do and we need to start by laughing at ourselves first.

Some years ago I was invited on a television show which did just that and if you find the clip on YouTube you’ll find male sexual metaphors when I was making fun of myself. Does that make me a man hater? I had a great time doing that show and I’m told over Christmas the kind souls of L-Istrina have another impersonation planned for me. But this time, hopefully, the gasps of horror by the usual few will be drowned by Christmas jingles.

Evarist Bartolo is Minister of Education and Employment.