IT’S the swimwear of choice for the modern political leader. Tony Blair and David Cameron both chose floral patterned shorts as they paddled out on their summer holidays last week. They say modern. They say stylish. They hint at a sensitive, feminine side just waiting to appeal to those vital women voters. Ooh! Suit you, prime minister.

The Tory leader soaked up the sunshine in Corfu while sporting shorts by Boden, supplier of leisurewear to the middle-class family man. They are currently a snip at £22. The prime minister usually prefers patterned Vilebrequin, which are a much more fashionable and statesmanlike £90. Yet this year he favoured a new garish William Morris look for his Caribbean trip.

The two men might be on holiday but there is no escape from the harsh glare of political scrutiny. Not even in the delicate matter of a chap’s swimwear. And certainly not in the very much more delicate matter of a chap’s middle-aged spread. So which leader came off best? “Cameron’s trunks are more timorous, but then he has kept it in the Old Etonian club,” said Colin McDowell, the Sunday Times fashion writer. “He wants to keep one foot in boyhood. That keeps him sexy and gives him charm with the women.”

“Blair’s trunks are very Euroset,” said Jeremy Langmead, editor of Wallpaper*, the leading design magazine. “They are quite garish, but I suppose if your figure is going, it is best to have something to distract from it. Thankfully they are not wearing something that reveals the lunchbox. That tends to drop a little lower as you get older.

“Cameron’s choice of Boden is a little parochial for a potential leader on the international stage. I am not sure it’s statesmanlike.”

If Cameron’s shorts were not at the cutting edge, there was worse news about his physique. Let’s speak plainly here, David, it looks as if you’ve been letting yourself go. There is a suggestion of love handles and — far, far more embarrassing — the hint of so-called moobies, male breasts.

The sight of the Conservative leader going topless certainly did not impress Dr Ian Campbell, medical director of Weight Concern. “Cameron is claiming the healthy lifestyle but the reality is betraying the fact that it’s not that healthy,” he said.

Dr David Haslam, clinical director of the National Obesity Forum, said: “I’d like to stick up for David Cameron, I’d like to think he has got the best intentions but has discovered that the workload and the position he’s in make avoiding the toxic environment that we have almost impossible.

“If you are very busy and get up in the morning and jump on the conveyor belt of modern life and eat what’s in front of you and use the technology that’s there to be used, you’ll get fat. He’s proving to the rest of us that it really is difficult (to stay fit) even if you genuinely believe in the concepts of healthy living.”

Aides admit Cameron is struggling to keep in shape because of his gruelling schedule which leaves little time for cycling, the only form of exercise he really enjoys.

In an interview with The Sunday Times, William Hague, the former Tory leader and one of the fittest politicians at Westminster, says he has given Cameron tips on how to stay healthy.

But it’s not all bad news for Cameron in the fashion stakes. Tony Blair doesn’t seem to be quite the icon he might think. After he was pictured in patterned green Vilebrequin shorts last summer, sales of that item at one London store completely dried up.

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