Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1013924
12 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 12 AUGUST 2018 MARIA PACE IT has been a stressful week in the aftermath of the Egrant inquiry report, and the sum- mer heat isn't helping anyone keep their cool. So we asked Malta's leaders how they're planning to de- stress during the summer and where they plan to escape. Prime Minister Joseph Mus- cat seemed excited to take a break with his family since the publication of the Egrant in- quiry appears to have set his mind to rest, but told Malta- Today he wasn't sure where to go. Recent reports suggested that his wife Michelle and him were recently in Los Angeles before travelling on more of- ficial business to Japan. Archbishop Charles Sciclu- na is also in vacation mode. He recently went to the Holy Land on a pilgrimage with youths, but then he set off once again to go to Caltagi- rone in Sicily, for the titular feast of St James. On the other hand, Opposi- tion leader Adrian Delia and the President of the Republic Marie Louise Coleiro-Perca will be staying behind this summer. While Delia said he had al- ready taken his break on a four-day trip to a Sicily agri- tourism farm with his large family, Coleiro-Preca's hectic schedule will only allow her to break off next year. And how do the party lead- ers deal with their biggest 'opponents' – their own kids – when the family goes on holiday? Delia's family seem to be as resistant as some of his own rebel MPs: he said he is of- ten outvoted by his family members. "While I'd rather go sightseeing, my wife wants to relax at the hotel spa. My children, on the other hand, would rather go to a fun park," he said. "We're strong believ- ers of democracy, so they out- vote us every time." Muscat, on the other hand, positions himself as a consen- sus-builder, saying the family alternates between sightsee- ing and going to fun parks, keeping everyone happy until the end of the trip. And when they're not on holiday, they all like going for a quick dip. Siggiewi boy Adri- an Delia says he enjoys going to Ghar Lapsi, while the Arch- bishop chooses the Ancient Baths area in St Paul's Bay, just between the Sirens club and il-Menqa. Similarly, Bu- gibba and St Paul's Bay hold a special place in the President's heart, who says she used to go there as a young girl. Muscat confessed he'd much rather leave the swimming to his wife, but admits a pref- erence for Fekruna Bay in Xemxija when the opportu- nity arises. The leaders also have some impressive reading lists this year. Archbishop Scicluna's read- ing is in line with the job, list- ing Maltese priest Rob Galea's Breakthrough, Pope Francis's Adesso Fate Le Vostre Doman- de, and Catholics' prime es- sayist and novelist of choice, G.K. Chesterton's The Com- plete Father Brown Stories. Even Coleiro-Preca has a reading list well suited to her diplomatic and humanitarian values: the seminal autobiog- raphy of South African states- man Nelson Mandela, The Long Walk To Freedom, Mala- la Yousafazi's I Am Malala, and The Girl From Aleppo by Nujeen Mustafa, a book about a teenager born with cerebral palsy who underwent the jour- ney from war-ravaged Syria to Germany in a wheelchair. It's Delia who ventures off his comfort ground, planning to read former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis's Talking To My Daughter About the Economy, then low- ering the intensity with a John Grisham thriller, The Rooster Bar, and M. Scott Peck's best known work, the popular psy- chological book The Road Less Travelled. That's quite a liter- ary voyage for the summer. Even the Prime Minister's book list sounds ambitious, starting with some evolution- ary history with Yuval Noah Harari's Sapiens: A Brief His- tory of Humankind, then re- laxing with Australian-Mal- tese chef Shane Delia's Spice Journey: Adventures in Mid- dle Eastern Cooking, and then getting back to some political fiction with the thriller The President Is Missing by for- mer US President Bill Clinton and acclaimed thriller author James Patterson. mpace@mediatoday.com.mt NEWS Where will they go on holiday and what's on their reading list? MARIA PACE spoke to President Marie Louise Coleiro-Preca, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, Opposition leader Adrian Delia, and Archbishop Charles Scicluna OUT FOR THE SUMMER Where the leaders will holiday and what's on their reading list Guess who is reading what? Political fiction for Joseph Muscat with The President Is Missing, while Adrian Delia gets to grips with former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis's Talking To My Daughter About The Economy