Paper Monitor: A bank holiday is afoot
On a bank holiday being afoot.
It's a bank holiday in the UK, though Paper Monitor's morning perusal of each weekday's newsprint continues apace.
In the spirit of the spring break, most front pages carry a seasonal photo of a British couple sitting at a table in front of an Ibiza beach, bathed in Balearic sun.
As that couple is Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha, the papers' interpretation is predictably partisan.
For the pro-Labour Daily Mirror, the decision to go abroad so soon after the murder of Drummer Lee Rigby in Woolwich is worthy of scorn. According to political editor Jason Beattie, "this overseas break looks terrible when events at home are still unfurling at a frantic rate".
But in its leader, the Daily Express says the Camerons are entirely within their rights, and there is no reason why the business of government should be interrupted: "Ibiza is hardly the other side of the world. The prime minister has email, phones and texts at his disposal."
For the Daily Mail, however, this is a matter that transcends politics.
There is a matter of national importance at stake here - what does the prime minister have on his feet?
In 2012, it transpires, the Camerons holidayed in Majorca, and the First Lord of the Treasury "looked more like he was heading to the office than the beach" by wearing "smart black shoes".
Now, however, "he has clearly taken on board criticism of the formal footwear he wore last year - opting for far more weather-appropriate sandals this time", the paper (though not its online edition) announces. The gasps of relief are all but audible from the fashion desk at Derry Street.