Labour leader Joseph Muscat is not known to care for formalities. His "call me Joseph" debut speech in which he dispensed love to the party's core and beyond made his no-nonsense approach evident to all and sundry.

But now, it is his presence at, or rather his absence from, official ceremonies which is raising eyebrows in political and diplomatic circles.

The latest case of absenteeism concerns a farewell dinner for President Eddie Fenech Adami at Castille on March 21. Instead of putting on his bow tie for the formal dinner, the opposition leader chose to take a short break in the neighbouring island of Sicily, in the company of his family and deputy leader Anglu Farrugia, who was also accompanied by his family.

When contacted yesterday he was quick to defend his choice and pointed out that he had made plans for the trip three months ago when there was no indication of the dinner.

"I only received the invite to the dinner six days before the trip... I had a commitment with my family and I chose to honour it. I cleared it with the President beforehand. I told him I had made arrangements for a personal trip months ahead and apologised for not being able to attend.

"I might as well file for divorce if I don't honour my commitments with my family in the little free time I have," Dr Muscat said yesterday.

In a way, he was putting into practice the words of Dr Fenech Adami himself, who, at the dinner, stressed the value of the family.

Dr Fenech Adami urged Malta to live up to its identity and cherish the family because it was the key, even to the island's economic progress.

As he himself looked forward to end his term on Saturday to be able to spend more time with his family and 10 grandchildren, Dr Fenech Adami said this value was crucial to face the challenges.

But the opposition leader has dodged his official duties quite a few times in the past months. Since he was elected leader last June, Dr Muscat has missed six out of nine official functions.

He attended the Sette Giugno ceremony, the Republic Day parade and the Gieh ir-Repubblika medal-giving ceremony.

His list of absences includes ceremonies on September 8 and Independence Day.

When faced with the list, he chose not to defend himself: "I need to get more used to protocol," he said.