- Saturday, April 27, 2024
The 45-year-old leader delivered an emotional statement in Dublin to announce his decision and cited ‘personal and political reasons’ for the decision.
By: Shubham Ghosh
IRELAND’S prime minister of Indian descent, Leo Varadkar, caused surprise nationwide on Wednesday (20) with his abrupt resignation, citing “personal and political reasons”, setting off a leadership contest.
The 45-year-old Taoiseach, as the Irish premier is referred to, delivered an emotional statement from the steps of the government buildings in Dublin to announce his decision.
Varadkar said he believed a new leader “will be better placed than me” to gain seats for his party Fine Gael in the next general election, scheduled for next year.
“My reasons for stepping down now are personal and political, but mainly political… After seven years in office, I don’t feel I’m the best person for that job anymore,” said Varadkar.
Read: Indian-origin premiers of UK, Ireland oversee historic power-sharing deal
Leo Varadkar resigns! pic.twitter.com/nx2gB5wvVr
— MichaeloKeeffe (@Mick_O_Keeffe) March 20, 2024
“There are loyal colleagues and good friends contesting local European elections, and I want to give them the best chance possible. On a personal level, I’ve enjoyed being Taoiseach… However, politicians are human beings and we have our limitations. We give it everything until we can’t anymore. And then we have to move on,” he said.
Read: Ireland eyes enhanced trade ties with India
“That’s it. I have nothing else lined up or in mind. No definite personal or political plans, but I am looking forward to having the time to think about them,” he added.
Varadkar was born in Ireland to a Mumbai-born father and Irish mother and has led the Fine Gael party since 2017. At 38, he became the country’s youngest and first openly gay prime minister, and has served as Taoiseach twice since.
In his speech, Varadkar added that he was proud that the country is “more equal and more modern place when it comes to the rights of children, the LGBT community, equality for women and their bodily autonomy”.
Last month, he joined Britain’s Indian-origin prime minister Rishi Sunak to unveil a historic power-sharing pact when they agreed that a “stable, effective and successful” Northern Ireland – part of the United Kingdom and sharing a border with Ireland – benefitted the UK-Irish relationship immensely.
Varadkar’s first stint leading Ireland lasted from 2017 to 2020, before he took up the role as Tanaiste, or deputy prime minister, from 2020 until December 2022.
He has been part of a “rotating Taoiseach” arrangement that formed the basis of a three-party coalition involving Fianna Fáil and the Green Party. Following a leadership contest within his party, a new Taoiseach is expected to take office when the Irish parliament, the Dáil, reconvenes after Easter in April.
Varadkar has expressed his intention to continue serving as a member of parliament representing his Dublin West constituency. His resignation announcement on Wednesday does not automatically prompt a general election in Ireland, which is mandated to take place by March 2025, marking five years since the last election.
Varadkar’s decision to step down comes after a defeat on a family issues double referendum, in which voters refused to expand the constitutional definition of the family beyond married couples and removing some sexist language around women’s duties in the home from the Irish Constitution.
Varadkar conceded that “there are areas where we have been much less successful”, adding, “I hope you’ll forgive me if I leave it to others to point them out on a day like this.”
(With PTI inputs)
