Leo Varadkar is to step down as Ireland’s prime minister in a shock decision, saying he was no longer the right person to lead his party into a general election due within a year.
Varadkar, who has been Taoiseach since December 2022 and served previously in the role between 2017 and 2020, cited personal and political decisions but gave no details in a brief, at times emotional, announcement on Wednesday.
“One part of leadership is knowing when to pass on the baton and having the courage to do it,” Varadkar told reporters, surrounded by stony-faced senior party figures. “That time has come. After seven years [as party leader] I don’t feel I’m the best person for that job anymore.”
His voice shaking with emotion at times, Varadkar, 45, said he would stay on until a new leader could be selected at his Fine Gael party’s conference on April 6, enabling the parliament, the Dáil, to elect a new Taoiseach after the Easter recess.
“There’s never a right time to resign high office. However, this is as good a time as any . . . My reasons for stepping down are both personal and political,” he added, giving no further details.
His decision came days after his return from St Patrick’s Day celebrations with President Joe Biden in the White House.
Influential ministers who could take the helm of the party include business minister Simon Coveney, public expenditure minister Paschal Donohoe and Simon Harris, higher education minister.
Parties in the ruling coalition, made up of the centre-right Fine Gael, the centrist Fianna Fáil and the Green Party, do not expect the bombshell resignation to trigger a general election.
The news blindsided politicians even within his own party, and comes ahead of local and European elections in June and a general election in Ireland which has to take place by March 2025 and which is widely expected to be called in the autumn.
“I believe this government can be re-elected and I believe my party can gain seats. Most of all, I believe the re-election of this three-party government would be the right thing for the future of our country,” he said.
“But after careful consideration and some soul-searching, I believe that a new Taoiseach and a new leader will be better placed than me to achieve that.”
Varadkar, who said he had been a public representative for 20 years, including 13 as a cabinet minister and seven as his party leader, added that he would stay on in the Dáil and had “nothing else lined up”.
“It’s an extraordinary time to step down,” Gary Murphy, professor of politics at Dublin City University, told RTÉ radio, and some politicians speculated that a general election could now be unavoidable.
Micheál Martin, leader of Fianna Fáil and foreign minister, said he had been surprised by Varadkar’s decision but did not think it would bring about an election.
Holly Cairns, leader of the small Social Democrats party, said it was untenable for the government to finish its term in full “if even the Taoiseach seems to recognise the writing is on the wall for this coalition”.
Varadkar’s Fine Gael has been plateauing in the polls and several of its legislators have chosen not to stand in the next general election.
This article has been amended to correct the end of Varadkar’s first term as Taoiseach
Source: https://www.ft.com/content/0b779688-4248-4304-840d-db8bc758985a
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