DUBLIN
\nLeo Varadkar on Wednesday announced that he was stepping down as Ireland\u2019s prime minister and leader of the Fine Gael party in the governing coalition, citing \u201cpersonal and political\u201d reasons.
\nPundits called the surprise move, just 10 weeks before Ireland holds European Parliament and local elections, a \u201cpolitical earthquake.\u201d A general election also has to be held within a year.
\nDeputy Prime Minister Micheal Martin, leader of Fianna Fail, the main coalition partner, said Varadkar\u2019s announcement was \u201cunexpected\u201d but added that he expected the government to run its full term.
\nAn emotional Varadkar, who is in his second stint as prime minister and at 45 remains one of Europe\u2019s youngest leaders, said he felt he was no longer the \u201cbest person\u201d to lead the country.
\n\u201cPoliticians are human beings. We have our limitations,\u201d he said in a statement on the steps of Government Buildings in Dublin, surrounded by his Fine Gael cabinet colleagues.
\n\u201cWe give it everything until we can\u2019t anymore and then we have to move on.\u201d
\nDespite recent poor showings at the ballot box, Varadkar insisted that he believed the government could be re-elected.
\nBut he added: \u201cI believe a new taoiseach (prime minister) will be better placed than me to achieve that \u2014 to renew and strengthen the top team, to refocus our message and policies, and to drive implementation.\u201d
\n\u201cAfter seven years in office, I am no longer the best person for that job,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cMy reasons for stepping down now are personal and political, but mainly political,\u201d he said, without elaborating.
\nEarlier this month, Varadkar was widely blamed for a twin defeat, including the biggest-ever referendum loss by a government, on proposals to reform references to women, the family and care in the Irish constitution.
\nVaradkar said his center-right Fine Gael party would have a leadership contest, and that he would remain as premier until the new leader is elected, after parliament returns from recess next month.
\nVaradkar first became prime minister in June 2017. He was the youngest person to ever hold the office, Ireland\u2019s first openly gay prime minister, and the first from an ethnic minority background.
\nHe stepped down as part of a deal with opposition parties after his party\u2019s poor performance in the 2020 general election, but took over for a second time in 2022 as part of the same agreement.
\nVaradkar, a pugnacious and sometimes controversial speaker in parliament, was in charge of Ireland\u2019s response to the Covid pandemic and during Brexit negotiations, where he helped prevent a hard border with UK-run Northern Ireland.
\nFine Gael has lost five recent by-elections, leading some insiders to see Varadkar as an electoral liability.
\nTen of the party\u2019s lawmakers have announced that they do not plan to stand at the next election.
\n\u201cHis legacy will be that of an electoral loser. He promised to be a good communicator, but it turned out he was bad at it. He had no clear agenda, and delivered little,\u201d Eoin O\u2019Malley, a political scientist at Dublin City University, told AFP.
\nIn London, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak\u2019s spokesman said of Varadkar: \u201cWe wish him well on his next steps and we\u2019ll continue to work closely with him as a successor is sought.\u201d
\nVaradkar\u2019s potential successors include cabinet ministers Simon Harris (education), Simon Coveney (trade), and Helen McEntee (justice).
\nPolitical analysts said an election was not expected in the wake of the announcement, though opposition parties queued up to demand a vote.
\nSinn Fein\u2019s leader Mary Lou McDonald, leader of the opposition, urged Varadkar to call an early election, saying it was \u201cunthinkable\u201d that a \u201cconclave\u201d of Fine Gael politicians decide the next prime minister.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
DUBLIN Leo Varadkar on Wednesday announced that he was stepping down as Ireland\u2019s prime minister and leader of the Fine Gael party in the governing coalition, citing \u201cpersonal and political\u201d reasons. Pundits called the surprise move, just 10 weeks before Ireland holds European Parliament and local elections, a \u201cpolitical earthquake.\u201d A general election also has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":395253,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-395240","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n