Mixed report card for Varadkar after a busy first year as Taoiseach

IF a week is a long time in politics then a year is an absolute age. As such, it’s vaguely surprising to realise that Leo Varadkar has already been Taoiseach for 12 months. It has been an interesting year for Mr Varadkar who has had his share of ups and downs and while he remains very popular with the public, one has to ask just how much he and his Government have actually achieved.

Mr Varadkar is often accused of being somewhat obsessed with spin but he has chosen not to make too much of his first anniversary as national leader.

When he was asked in the Dáil about the landmark occasion the Taoiseach said he “wasn’t one for anniversaries or birthdays” and often either forgot them or ignored them.

Thankfully, in case someone in the chamber realised what day it was, he did think to bring along a brief list of his achievements.

Those were, the Taoiseach told the Dáil, “record levels of employment, balanced the books, improved living standards, reduced income inequality, reduced poverty, and reduced deprivation”.

Many people will dispute some of these claims entirely – the claimed reductions in poverty and deprivation for example.

It should also be pointed out that the statistically supported claims on employment, book balancing and income equality are based on policies introduced long before he became Taoiseach.

Was this another example of Varadkar spin? Probably, but in this case it’s understandable. What Government wouldn’t use every opportunity available to let people known that the good times are back (supposedly) and it’s thanks to them.

It is in certain other areas that the Taoiseach’s efforts to manage PR have been somewhat less successful.

He has been forced to dismantle a pet project, the notorious Strategic Communications Unit, in the wake of the disastrously bungled ‘ Ireland 2040’ media campaign.

The eventual resignation of Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald – the biggest political blow landed to date on the Taoiseach – was another PR failure, with his repeated defence of his embattled mentor tarnishing his previously polished image.

Gaffes like his embarrassing ‘Love Actually’ comments during his visit to Downing Street and his frequent tweets about his socks have done him no favours among more seriously minded voters.

Meanwhile, the Government’s continuing failure to address the housing crisis remains a millstone around its neck.

For all that, the last few months have been good for the Taoiseach. The landslide ‘Yes’ victory in the Repeal referendum was an undeniable triumph for Mr Varadkar and will help seal his place in the history books.

So too should his, remarkably under-reported, recent visit to Northern Ireland when he became the first serving Irish head of Government to visit the Orange Order’s headquarters in Belfast.

If we see more of such visits and less focus on socks then next year’s report card – if he’s still in office – might be less of a mixed bag. ‘ A bit done, lots more to do’ to paraphrase one of Mr Varadkar’s predecessors.