Ireland News and Discussions

[Time_Traveller]

Leo Varadkar: Irish leader caps off legacy of firsts with shock departure

Wed 20 Mar 2024 17.12 GMT



When Leo Varadkar was a teenager on a school trip to Northern Ireland he smuggled fireworks back into the republic to set off some illicit bangs – but it is only now that he has sent a boom echoing across Ireland.

At the age of 45, Ireland’s youngest – and first gay, and first mixed race – taoiseach is stepping down.

Nobody saw it coming; not his party colleagues in Fine Gael, not his coalition colleagues in Fianna Fáil or the Greens, not the media. Yet there he stood on the steps of Government Buildings in Dublin on Wednesday making an emotional announcement, watched by shellshocked ministers and dumbfounded TV viewers.

“I believe this government can be re-elected,” he said. “I believe a new taoiseach will be better placed than me to achieve that – to renew and strengthen the top team, to refocus our message and policies, and to drive implementation. After seven years in office, I am no longer the best person for that job.”

He was resigning as leader of Fine Gael and will resign as taoiseach once a successor is named, he said. “My reasons for stepping down now are personal and political, but mainly political,” he said, without elaborating. Michael D Higgins, the president, apparently learned of his resignation just before the press conference.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/ ... -departure

[Time_Traveller]

Simon Harris set to become new Fine Gael leader later

1 hour ago

Simon Harris is expected to become the new leader of Fine Gael.

Mr Harris, who is currently Ireland's minister for further and higher education, was the only candidate to seek the party leadership.

He is set to replace Leo Varadkar, who announced on Wednesday he was stepping down as party leader and taoiseach (Irish prime minister).

Nominations closed at 13:00 local time on Sunday.

He was the only candidate for the position at the close of nominations.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-68639607

[Time_Traveller]

Simon Harris set to become new Fine Gael leader later

1 hour ago

Simon Harris is expected to become the new leader of Fine Gael.

Mr Harris, who is currently Ireland's minister for further and higher education, was the only candidate to seek the party leadership.

He is set to replace Leo Varadkar, who announced on Wednesday he was stepping down as party leader and taoiseach (Irish prime minister).

Nominations closed at 13:00 local time on Sunday.

He was the only candidate for the position at the close of nominations.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-68639607

Simon Harris becomes Ireland's youngest prime minister at 37

Tuesday 9 April 2024 15:54, UK



Simon Harris has become the youngest premier in Ireland's history after meeting with President Michael D Higgins.

Earlier, Ireland's Dail, parliament's lower house, voted to approve the 37-year-old as their next taoiseach by 88 votes to 69.

Mr Harris's appointment - which came after the shock resignation of Leo Varadkar last month - was confirmed during a ceremony with President Higgins at his official residence at Aras an Uachtarain in Dublin.

Mr Varadkar, 45, tendered his official resignation to the president on Monday evening after saying his reasons for stepping down were "both personal and political".

Father-of-two Mr Harris was the only candidate to put his name forward in the Fine Gael leadership contest.

https://news.sky.com/story/simon-harris ... t-13111368