Burned by LCD Soundsystem, buoyed by Repeal the 8th
A WEEK may be a long time in politics, but a year can fly by. Leo Varadkar was elected Taoiseach on June 14, 2017 – and has had 12 months of ups, downs, and more downs.
But, while his critics may point to some really glaring missteps, the public remain enamoured with the man.
Over the 12 months he has mixed walking the tightrope of leading a minority Government with trying to make his presence felt on the international stage. And while some might say it’s been a year of living dangerously, the success of the referendum on abortion will be putting a pep in his step on his first anniversary, and for some time to come. THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE
Being elected to the highest political office in the country as a 38year-old gay man who is the son of an immigrant father made headlines around the world for all the right reasons. Regardless of what he does or does not achieve politically, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is a symbol of a progressive Ireland, where neither race nor sexuality is a barrier. His appeal is global and he is listed as one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people.
JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS SCANDAL
The nature of the appointment of the former Attorney General Máire Whelan to the Court of Appeal was an early controversy for the Taoiseach. It caused friction with his Independent ministers, especially Shane Ross – who had made judicial appointments one of his main issues. It also caused controversy with Fianna Fáil who were propping up the minority government. The scandal stopped only when Leo went ahead with the appointment regardless. But it was a week-one wobble.
BROMANCE, SOCKS AND LOVE ACTUALLY
It’s not easy trying to maintain an image of a young, hip, trendy Taoiseach, but there are some things that would made it a lot easier. Not referencing the romantic comedy Love Actually while standing in Downing Street with the British prime minister for one. One would think it would be hard to top that for gaucheness, but An Taoiseach soon outdid himself. Bad enough was the choreographed run through the Phoenix Park with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. But the reveal of maple-leaf socks at the press conference had us hiding behind our hands.
GAY PRIDE, MONTREAL
The Taoiseach, accompanied by his partner Matthew Barrett, marched alongside Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the Gay Pride Festival in Montreal. The event signalled the strong ties between the two leaders – who held trade talks in advance of the parade, – as well as increasing the Taoiseach’s international profile. That Trudeau extended the invite so early into his premiership is a good sign, or the mark of an arch opportunist.
NEVER MEET YOUR HEROES
The Taoiseach and a string of other trendy TDs attended a sold-out concert of US band’s LCD Soundsystem, in Dublin’s Olympia Theatre last September. But after the gig, what they thought would have been a nice backstage meetand-greet turned sour. Band member Al Doyle took the Taoiseach to task when he refused a request for a photo with another band member Nancy Whang, who was wearing a Repeal the Eighth slogan. This was when Mr Varadkar was more cagey on the issue, before he officially backed the Yes campaign. Doyle labelled the Taoiseach a ‘t***er’ on Twitter. The Mail on Sunday covered the unseemly affair. And Whang had the last say, retweeting the MoS splash, saying to Leo: ‘Hope u enjoyed yr free concert and taco’. The band returned to Dublin earlier this month with singer James Murphy congratulating the crowd for ‘deciding to trust
your women’.
FINE GAEL ÁRD-FHEIS
The Taoiseach’s wooden first speech at a Fine Gael conference in Ballyconnell, Co. Cavan as leader was one he’ll want to forget. The next day, he came in for further sharp criticism for downplaying the homeless crisis. His remarks that: ‘Ireland has one of the lowest levels of homelessness. We’re actually a country by international standards, compared with our peers, that has a low level of homelessness,’ led to angry responses from homeless campaigners, who accused him of engaging in ‘Walter Mitty politics’.
FRANCES FITZGERALD
Mr Varadkar’s decision to stick by the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald over ‘what she knew, and when she knew it’ in relation to a troublesome legal strategy deployed against garda whistleblower Sgt Maurice McCabe at a State Commission of Inquiry in 2015, brought the government to the brink of collapse. Despite clear evidence that she was aware, or should have been aware of, the controversial strategy, the Taoiseach refused to dispose of his former political mentor. A drip-drip of key emails eventually forced her to tender her resignation, calling into question his political judgement.
CHINESE NEW YEAR
After internal misogyny allegations emerged from within the Fine Gael party, the Taoiseach arrived at an event in Dublin to celebrate Chinese New Year in February. His PR handlers tried to forestall any questions at all. Ignoring their ban, the Mail on Sunday asked the Taoiseach straight up about the bullying claims by Senator Catherine Noone against an unnamed senator, only to be physically restrained by his PR apparachiks. We got the question in – and forced a grimacing Taoiseach to answer. A solid PR lesson: When avoiding questions about bullying, try not to become the heavy.
STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS UNIT
As details of Budget 2018 were revealed the not-so-small matter of €5m set aside for the supposedly cost-neutral creation of a Strategic Communications Unit (SCU) immediately caught the eye. It didn’t take long for the unit – stationed inside the Taoiseach’s own Department – to be labelled a ‘spin’ and ‘propaganda’ unit by opposition parties. The SCU led the news agenda for weeks until government-funded advertisements promoting National Development Plan Ireland 2040 appeared, seemingly made to look like news articles. The fallout forced a review. A review ordered the closure of the SCU. A hard one to spin.
ST PATRICK’S DAY
It should have been an easy win for the Taoiseach and his team. Make the annual pilgrimage to the White House, present a bowl of shamrock and smile for the world’s media. And all was going reasonably well. But then the Taoiseach bizarrely veered off script, when he told a story about his previous contact with President Trump while he was Minister for Tourism and President Trump, who was then a mere reality TV star and millionaire businessman. The Taoiseach’s implication that he helped Mr Trump get around planning process for his Doonbeg Golf Resort sent shock waves back across the Atlantic – and forced him to insist he hadn’t made a show of himself. Bertie Ahern was called the Teflon Taoiseach, but despite a number of controversies, Taoiseach Varadkar has continued to increase Fine Gael’s standing in the opinion polls (largely backed up by an exit poll in the recent referendum). This popularity has allowed him to play hardball with Fianna Fáil, who realise collapsing the Government, no matter how serious the issue, will likely not work in their favour. POPULARITY IN THE POLLS
EXPEL THE DIPLOMATS
Leo’s solo run to back Britain against Russia in the Sergei Skripal poisoning crisis was a remarkable intervention. By rounding up the EU posse to expel Russian diplomats, and turfing out a Russian spy from the embassy here, An Taoiseach got to stand shoulder to shoulder with France’s Emmanuel Macron. This at a time when France is leading the attack on our tax sovereignty. Mr Varadkar’s independent colleagues were not enthused about the implications for neutrality. But it certainly showed he is intent on playing with the big boys.
CROCODILE TEARS
Vicky Phelan, the woman whose refusal to sign a confidentially agreement with the HSE led to the CervicalCheck scandal being exposed, hit out at the Taoiseach saying a moment when he became emotional at a news conference was ‘insincere’. She added that his sympathetic remarks – two weeks into the controversy – were ‘too little too late’. Neither the Taoiseach nor anyone in his Government were aware or briefed about the CervicalCheck audit. But Mr Varadkar’s response to the crisis once he became aware of it has been roundly criticised as detached, and was left in sharp relief by his Health Minister Simon Harris who hasn’t put a foot wrong since the scandal broke in April.
REPEALING THE EIGHTH AMENDMENT
A watershed moment in Irish history, and while Health Minister Simon Harris received a lot of the plaudits, the Taoiseach can rightfully count getting the referendum over the line within the first year of his tenure as an achievement of his own. This was something he had identified as a priority when he first became Taoiseach.
BREXIT
While the outcome of the Brexit negotiations is still uncertain the Taoiseach has managed to maintain a strong, solid position and hasn’t allowed Ireland to be fractured from the rest of Europe during negotiations. This stance has left the British politicians scrambling, and suffering all the political turmoil. His strong performance on the European stage is a key feather in his cap.
THE ECONOMY
The Taoiseach had a long list of economic achievements to hand in the Dáil this week when reference to his oneyear anniversary at the helm was made. He pointed to ‘record levels of employment, balanced the books, improving living standards, reduced income inequality, reduced poverty, and reduced deprivation’. Unfortunately record levels of homelessness, and a housing crisis for couples who want a family home, mean there is still a way to go.