What happens when leaders are switched? Harris has tough acts to follow as new taoiseach
From Lemass to Leo, changes have worked in the past – but not always
As Leo Varadkar stepped out, and Simon Harris steps in, this is the eighth time an internal leader switch has given us a new taoiseach. Here’s a summary of the previous seven “switcheroos” and a flavour of how the changes worked – and sometimes did not.
1959 – Seán Lemass replaces Éamon de Valera
Both Fianna Fáil founder members were veterans of the 1916 Rising but otherwise Lemass and De Valera were like chalk and cheese. There was relief in the party as De Valera made a successful bid to become Ireland’s president.
Effect: The switch modernised Ireland as Lemass opened up the economy on the advice of finance department head TK Whitaker. He reframed relations with Northern Ireland in 1965 by going to Belfast to meet his counterpart, Terence O’Neill.
Lemass brought in new young talent, ending the War of Independence generation’s stranglehold. He also lodged a membership application for the forerunner of the European Union and broadened Ireland’s interests at the United Nations.
1966 – Seán Lemass surprises everyone by resigning
The shock departure of Lemass, aged 67, promised a grim succession struggle between rivals Charlie Haughey and George Colley. So, Jack Lynch emerged as a compromise.
He was a GAA sporting icon, tougher than appreciated, and the notion that he was an interim leader was wrong. But the deep-seated Fianna Fáil divisions persisted for 30 years.
Effect: Lynch succeeded in extending his party’s term in power with a 1969 election win. But his first stint in power was dominated by the outbreak of violence in the North and the notorious arms trial which embroiled his rivals Haughey and Neil Blaney, whom he sacked from government.
Lynch won huge national popularity, and although in opposition from 1973-1977, he led his party to a landslide election win in 1977. But soon the Fianna Fáil tide ebbed and he was obliged to bring forward his retirement in late 1979 under pressure from Haughey.
1979 – Charlie Haughey ushers in years of division
The 1980s was dominated by rivalry between Charlie Haughey and the Fine Gael leader Garret FitzGerald, as well as persistent Fianna Fáil rows with an anti-Haughey minority. Haughey was charismatic and able but was accused of trying to corrupt Irish life, with questions emerging about the origins of his wealth.
Effect: A faltering economy and the spillover from Northern Ireland ousted Haughey from power in the early 1980s after intense instability with three elections inside 18 months. But he persisted in politics and regained power in 1987 when he finally showed what he was capable of.
Haughey led the economic turnaround mainly through a major national pay deal with bosses, unions and farmers, and ruthless economic austerity. But rows and divisions persisted and he was ousted by Albert Reynolds in early 1992.
1992 – Albert Reynolds’s short stint lays peace foundations
Albert Reynolds brought a tough business ethic to politics but proved incapable of operating in coalition with other parties. On his watch, partnerships with the breakaway Progressive Democrats and then with the Labour Party each broke up.
Effect: While Reynolds was in power Ireland’s economic recovery really took off, helped by lavish EU regional and social grants. He also befriended UK prime minister John Major, and helped pave the way for an IRA ceasefire and talks which eventually yielded the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
He was forced from power in late 1994 in the most bizarre circumstances, arising from the mishandling of the cases of child-abusing clerics. While his time was short, his legacy was considerable.
1994 – John Bruton’s Rainbow comes in without an election
Fine Gael’s John Bruton has the distinction of being the only taoiseach from a rival party to take office without a general election. This happened in December 1994 when Labour pulled support for Reynolds’s successor, Bertie Ahern, in the aftermath of the botched clerical abuse cases.
Effect: Bruton surprised many by running a cohesive “Rainbow Coalition” of Fine Gael, Labour and Democratic Left. The economy continued to flourish, with growing employment and immigration replacing decades of emigration.
Bruton was unlucky not to get re-elected in June 1997 when the three parties stood on a common platform. The collapse of Labour’s vote was a major cause.
2008 – Brian Cowen’s ill-starred takeover from Bertie Ahern
For years, Bertie Ahern’s popularity knew no bounds as he won three back-to-back general elections in 1997, 2002 and 2007. But a year after his third win, a vicious economic crash and revelations about his own personal finances forced him to quit in May 2008 in favour of Brian Cowen.
Effect: Cowen’s succession could not have been more untimely. Recession and rising unemployment had soured the public mood against all politicians. Weeks after his appointment Irish voters rejected the EU Lisbon Treaty and a number of public relations misadventures followed.
Eventually, he quit as Fianna Fáil leader and remained as caretaker taoiseach until March 2011. By then, Fianna Fáil had an electoral meltdown and were on the verge of extinction.
2017 – Leo Varadkar takes over from Enda Kenny
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny had a huge election win in February 2011 but the need to enforce economic austerity was compounded by a poor campaign for re-election in 2016. He did succeed in getting a minority government back into office thanks to Fianna Fáil support, but he had given a hostage to fortune by citing 2016 as his last election campaign and was forced to quit in April 2017.
Effect: Varadkar impressed at EU level, especially on Brexit, and left a legacy of social change, notably the repeal of the Eight Amendment on abortion. He did important work during the Covid pandemic and economic management after the banking and national crash.
However, problems with health and housing, migrant accommodation, and a general social malaise, all seem to have combined to leave him disillusioned with politics, and he makes way for Harris.