Irish PM quits unexpectedly
DUBLIN (Reuters) — Leo Varadkar announced on Wednesday he was stepping down as Ireland’s prime minister in a surprise move, saying the country’s coalition government would stand a better chance of reelection under another leader.
Varadkar’s Fine Gael party will open nominations for a new leader on Thursday with the results to be announced on April 5. Parliament would then vote on that person succeeding Varadkar as prime minister after it returns from Easter recess on April 9.
The shock departure of Varadkar, who became the first gay prime minister of the once-staunchly Catholic country in 2017 and returned to the premiership just 15 months ago, does not trigger a general election. A vote must be held by March 2025.
“My reasons for stepping down are both personal and political,” Varadkar, 45, told a hastily arranged news conference at government buildings in Dublin, sounding emotional as he spoke.
“But after careful consideration, and some soul searching, I believe that a new Taoiseach (prime minister) and a new leader will be better placed than me to achieve (the coalition government’s re-election).”
His successor will have 12 months to try to claw back the wide opinion poll deficit that both Fine Gael and their largest coalition partner Fianna Fail have to the main opposition Sinn Fein party, the former political wing of the Irish Republican Army.
Polls suggest the current three-party coalition also stands a chance of being re-elected, though Fine Gael will have to do without around one-third of its sitting lawmakers who have said they will not seek reelection.
Bookmaker Paddy Power made 37-year-old Higher Education Minister Simon Harris, who was health minister during the COVID-19 pandemic, the clear favorite to take over from Varadkar.