Maltese carry weight and that’s bad news. Role models, like “prophets”, are what people are looking for. Ask an overweight well-known official to lose weight for the benefit of the population. What’s good for the gander is good for the geese (citizens).
The very obese New Jersey Governor Chris Christie decided not to run for the presidency, when a picture of him next to slim, elegant President Obama appeared in the media. Someone said it reminded him of a walrus chatting up a penguin.