Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar says he will step down as leader of the country soon as a successor is chosen.
Varadkar in a resignation statement outside Government offices in Dublin on Wednesday said he is also quitting immediately as head of Fine Gael Party, part of Ireland’s coalition Government.
He will be replaced as Prime Minister after a Party leadership contest.
According to Associated Press, Varadkar said his reasons were “both personal and political.”
“When I became Party leader and Taoiseach (Prime Minister) back in June 2017, I knew that one part of leadership is knowing that the time has come to pass on the baton to somebody else, and then have the courage to do it. That time is now,”
“I am resigning as President and leader of Fine Gael effective today and will resign as the Taoiseach as soon as my successor is able to take up that office.”
“I’m proud that we have made the country a more equal and more modern place,” he said.
Varadkar, 45, has had two spells as taoiseach, or Prime Minister — between 2017 and 2020, and again since December 2022.
He was the country’s youngest-ever leader when first elected, as well as Ireland’s first openly gay Prime Minister.
Varadkar, whose mother is Irish and father is Indian, was also Ireland’s first biracial prime minister.
He played a leading role in campaigns to legalise same-sex marriage, approved in a 2015 referendum, and to repeal a ban on abortion, which passed in a vote in 2018.
In his resignation statement, Varadkar said, “I’m proud that we have made the country a more equal and more modern place.”
Varadkar has faced growing discontent within Fine Gael. Ten of the party’s lawmakers, almost a third of the total, have announced they will not run for re-election.
Earlier this month, voters rejected the government’s position in referendums on two constitutional amendments.
Changes backed by Varadkar that would have broadened the definition of family and removed language about a woman’s role in the home were resoundingly defeated.
The result sparked criticism that the pro-change campaign had been lacklustre and confusing.
Varadkar recently returned from Washington, where he met President Joe Biden and other political leaders as part of the Irish prime minister’s traditional St Patrick’s Day visit to the United States.
The next election must be called by early 2025.
Peoplesmind
