Feeling that he was no longer the “best person” to lead his country, 45-year-old Varadkar, who is serving his second term as prime minister, is distraught.
Citing “personal and political” reasons, Leo Varadkar announced his resignation as prime minister of Ireland and as head of the Fine Gael party in the ruling coalition.
With only a few weeks until Ireland’s local and European Parliament elections, pundits dubbed Wednesday’s abrupt decision a “political earthquake”. Within a year, a general election must also be held.
It happened a few days after Varadkar took advantage of the occasion during his official visit to the US last week in Washington, DC, to urge President Joe Biden to support a “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in Gaza.
“Israel must reverse its precipitous decision to authorise a land incursion into Rafah,” where over 1.5 million Palestinians have sought refuge from the Israeli military attack, the Irish Prime Minister said at an elite event that included the US president in a widely shared video.
Feeling that he was no longer the “best person” to lead the country, an emotional Varadkar—who is serving his second term as prime minister and is still among Europe’s youngest leaders at 45—spoke about his feelings.
“Politicians are people first. Surrounded by his Fine Gael cabinet colleagues, he made a statement on the steps of Government Buildings in Dublin, stating, “We have our limitations.”
“We give it everything until we can’t anymore and then we have to move on.”
In spite of his recent dismal performance at the polls, Varadkar maintained his belief that the government could be re-elected.
However, he stated: “I believe a new taoiseach (prime minister) will be better placed than me to achieve that — to renew and strengthen the top team, to refocus our message and policies, and to drive implementation.”
“After seven years in office, I am no longer the best person for that job,” he stated.
Without providing further details, he stated, “My reasons for stepping down now are personal and political, but mainly political.”
Varadkar was largely held accountable for two major setbacks earlier this month, including the largest referendum defeat ever suffered by a government over plans to amend the Irish constitution’s references to women, families, and caregiving.
The youngest PM with a history of ethnic minorities
Varadkar said his centre-right Fine Gael party would have a leadership contest, and that he would remain as premier until the new leader is elected, after parliament returns from recess next month.
Varadkar first became Ireland’s prime minister in June 2017. He was the youngest person to ever hold the office, first from an ethnic minority background.
He stepped down as part of a deal with opposition parties after his party’s poor performance in the 2020 general election, but took over for a second time in 2022 as part of the same agreement.
Pugnacious speaker of the house of commons, Varadkar oversaw Ireland’s reaction to the Covid epidemic and assisted in averting a hard border with the UK-run Northern Ireland during the Brexit discussions.
Several insiders view Varadkar as an electoral problem because Fine Gael has lost five recent by-elections.
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar says he is leaving for “political and personal” reasons.
A ten-member delegation of the party has declared that they would not be running for office in the upcoming election.
A spokesperson for UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in London wished Varadkar well on his next steps and stated, “We’ll continue to work closely with him as a successor is sought.”
A 66-year-old municipal employee named Francis Meehan praised Varadkar’s handling of the Covid situation. “Of course his experience as a medical doctor shone out,” he stated.
Potential successors to Varadkar might be the cabinet ministers Helen McEntee (justice), Simon Harris (education), and Simon Coveney (trade).
Notwithstanding the opposition parties’ eagerness to demand a poll, political observers claimed that an election was not anticipated following the statement.
The opposition leader for Sinn Fein, Mary Lou McDonald, asked Varadkar to call an early election, calling it “unthinkable” that the next prime minister would be chosen by a “conclave” of Finian Gael lawmakers.
SOURCE: TRTWORLD
