When taking a break is bad politics

Panama’s leader Ricardo Martinelli,  who made an unannounced trip to Italy on the weekend has outstripped his predecessors in taking off on the presidential jet on journeys for business, vacation, or a mixture of both.

In a country where the economy is booming, and  the increasing GDP the envy of the world, his visits to alma maters,  and football games go almost unnoticed. Not so leaders of other countries where absence from the office is quickly fingered by those feeling the strain of the world crashing around them and are afraid to take time off in case there is no job waiting for them on their return.

Britain’s  First Post, identifies two of the vacationers currently under the spotlight.

Barack Obama has joined David Cameron in the unhappy situation of being roundly criticised for having the temerity to take a holiday. The president's upcoming trip to millionaire's playground Martha's Vineyard has been slammed as "tone deaf" given the USA's economic woes.

The Obamas are spending ten days on the island, a haunt of Meg Ryan, Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal and other celebs which offers the well-connected a hectic round of social engagements.

Bill Clinton apparently used to visit several parties a night but the Obamas are said to prefer the quiet life and are enjoying some welcome seclusion from the public eye. On his first day, Obama visited a bookshop and played golf.

A rental property like the Obamas' could set you back as much as $50,000 for just ten days at the exclusive New England retreat.

The "tone deaf" jibe comes from that master of populism, Sarah Palin, while the Republican party chairman, Reince Priebus, has urged Americans to send the president angry postcards.

Joining the diss-fest is Donald Trump, who observed that Obama "takes more vacations than any human being I've ever seen". Trump must never have seen George W Bush: Obama's 61 days of leave so far are far fewer than either of his two most recent predecessors.

The White House issued a statement pointing out that Obama was taking a working holiday, coming up with a jobs plan over the ten-day vacation, and that Congress was also on vacation.

Feeling Obama's pain is David Cameron. He has just set off for a few days in Cornwall with his family after their original Italian summer holiday was cut short by rioting back home in the UK.

Cameron was the subject of a vitriolic attack in yesterday's Daily Mail which accused him of swanning off to the west country for his "fifth holiday of the year" after being spotted drinking beer at a cricket match.

The Camerons have enjoyed breaks in Spain, Cornwall and Ibiza this year – as well as their ill-fated Italian sojourn.

The Sunday Mirror  also had a go at Cameron's holidays – and made the point that a new ComRes survey showed 60 per cent of British families having to cancel their holiday plans because of the recession and fears for their jobs.