This means that every year the official prime ministerial summer photo is of the PM with his wife and fish (a gift for political wits and pundits). Both are favourite haunts of his (=supporting 2 of the poorest regions in Europe?) and both places have lots of fish. Mr Cameron this year is in Portugal with his family. Additionally, Mr CameronвЂ™s choice of the true story of Master Spy Kim PhilbyвЂ™s betrayal of his best friend, entitled вЂSpy among FriendsвЂ™, by Ben Macintyre, is, according to Tory MP Keith Simpson (in an interview with The Sunday Times) вЂ“ who compiles the annual MPsвЂ™ summer reading list вЂ“ вЂ( a book) all about friendship and deceptionвЂ¦ whether heвЂ™s (Mr.CameronвЂ™s) trying to send a message to George Osborne and Boris Johnson, I donвЂ™t know.вЂќ (=The Treasurer and Mayor of London respectively, and potential Top Tory contenders for the Top Job.) The Prime Minister has packed the autobiography of Tory peer Baroness Trumpington (aka вЂ™TrumpersвЂ™ or as the Daily Mail describes her, вЂ the gameshow-loving, Nazi code-breaking, sex pest-defying peer who (literally) stuck two fingers up at conventionвЂ™), as well as a book about Gavrilo Princip, who shot World War One into existence. Bar a few novels this is, as Winston Churchill once said, вЂan earnest businessвЂ™. After a year of Gaza, Syria and Ukraine, and political infighting in the EU and reshuffles on the home turf, surely they need to relax? And with all the recent heavyweight ceremonies commemorating the centenary of 1914, surely they deserve a break from world war and need to relax, curl up with a good thriller or romance? Well, no. If you look at the list вЂ“ see below вЂ“ youвЂ™ll see books about war, politics, lies, spies and the European Union. And with a British election coming up in 2015, this summerвЂ™s list for the Prime Minister David Cameron, Deputy PM Nick Clegg and Leader of the Opposition Ed Miliband вЂ“ and Summer Books Newcomer, the UKIP leader Nigel Farage! вЂ“ is a political hot potato. Angela Merkel in Germany may be allowed to indulge her passion for Wagner (and football!) but not here in Britain. David Cameron is taken more seriously if he attends a football match or goes to the pub. Most of the year our politicians try not to be seen with books at all, or indeed to be engaging in any cultural acts. The idea is, of course, that we judge their taste, personality, political direction, intellectual weight and qualities of leadership on these lists. So, every summer вЂ“ along with the acres of newsprint dedicated to Books Recommended by the Famous and Infamous (writers, celebrities, show-offs) for us, the Humble Populace* вЂ“ there are lists provided by some Central Office somewhere of the books our main political leaders вЂ“ all men! вЂ“ are packing in their beach bags. But strangely they still insist on doing it. Reading a book for a British politician is a political minefield. Many libraries in the UK have been closed after Local Council cuts. But definitely no books featuring sex and no library books. Then there are the tricky political issues of whether to read said books in digital or print (do you give support to traditional booksellers or trend-setting eBooks?) fiction or non-fiction paperback or hardback (are you lightweight or serious?). Books mean brains (do you have them or do you not?). And, most importantly, what you read on holiday.

Be a politician game