Varadkar exit is ‘vote of no confidence’, claims Bacik
Labour leader Ivana Bacik has told party members the resignation of Leo Varadkar was “the ultimate vote of no confidence in his own Government” and called on Simon Harris to hold a general election.
Labour members gathered in Dublin yesterday for the party’s 73rd national conference.
Ms Bacik told the gathering she wished Mr Harris well, but said radical change was needed.
“My challenge to the new temporary Taoiseach is this: if he has confidence in this Government, he should call a general election now.”
Last week’s announcement by Mr
Varadkar of his resignation as Taoiseach and Fine Gael leader meant the attention at the conference was on the new leader of the Government.
Ms Bacik said: “The problem is we have government parties which do not believe in the power of the state, ministers who are out of touch, have lost control or have left their jobs. Focused on internal leadership contests, they want to do anything but govern.”
The upcoming local and European elections as well as the possibility of a general election were also addressed during the day.
Currently, Labour has seven TDs and four senators. There are no Labour MEPs, but the party will run two candidates in the election,
Niamh Hourigan and TD Aodhán Ó Ríordáin.
Ms Bacik outlined the party’s “red lines for government”, which included the regulation of shortterm lets and the transformation of the Land Development Agency into a state construction company.
“The housing disaster is the civil rights issue of this generation. Building homes will be our number one priority in government,” Ms Bacik said.
She addressed the crisis in Gaza and said a permanent ceasefire was needed, as was the release of all hostages.
Labour finance spokesperson Ged Nash took aim at “TikTok Taoiseach” Harris, saying: “Frankly, I think Simon
Harris will be a little bit like the yappy dog who is chasing the car. If he caught the car, he won’t know what to do with it.
“I don’t believe that Minister Harris will have the kind of vision we need to transform the way government is done at the top.”
As one of the smaller parties in the Dáil, Labour has struggled to recover since the 2016 general election.
Councillor Conor Sheehan, who will seek the party’s nomination in Limerick’s mayoral election, said he believed Labour was getting its “mojo back”.
“Since all these new people have come in, we’ve seen a renewed vigour and I think the Labour Party has its sense of purpose again,” he said.