DUBLIN – Leo Varadkar takes over for the second time as Ireland’s prime minister this weekend, in a handover of power between the two main political partners in the three-party governing coalition.
Varadkar, who is mixed race, openly gay, and is still one of Ireland’s youngest ever leaders even in his second stint in the role, steps up from deputy premier tomorrow.
The rotation between 43-year-old Varadkar’s Fine Gael and current prime minister Micheal Martin’s Fianna Fail parties is unprecedented in Irish history.
The centre-right parties were forged from opposing sides in the Irish Civil War in the early 20th century.
They agreed to the rotating premiership as part of a coalition with Ireland’s Greens following 2020 elections.
Varadkar was seen as a fresh face when he took the helm of governing Fine Gael in 2017.
But after two-and-a-half years as Taoiseach (prime minister in Irish), a misfire at the polls in 2020, and controversies as deputy premier, his critics claim he has lost his shine.
A December poll for Ireland’s Sunday Independent indicated 43% of respondents were in favour of Martin remaining in power, against 34% for Varadkar.
But Varadkar’s backers point to his experience steering the nation through the coronavirus pandemic and the aftermath of the United Kingdom’s 2016 vote to leave the European Union.
Glass ceilings
Varadkar’s rise to the top of Irish politics was remarkable in a country dominated by a strict, conservative Catholic morality well into the latter half of the last century.
At 38, he became the country’s youngest Taoiseach as well as its first openly gay head of government and first of Indian heritage.
Varadkar was born in Dublin to an Irish mother who worked as a nurse and an Indian immigrant father, who was a qualified doctor.
At the age of seven, a precocious Varadkar is reported to have told his mother’s friends that he wanted to be the health minister.
After gaining a medical degree from Trinity College Dublin, he went into general practice but stayed involved in politics, and in 2007 secured election for Fine Gael in Dublin West.
In 2015, before Ireland’s referendum legalising same-sex marriage, Varadkar came out publicly as gay.
His partner, Matthew Barrett, is a cardiologist.
“I am a gay man, it’s not a secret, but not something that everyone would necessarily know,” Varadkar told RTE at the time.
“It’s not something that defines me... it’s part of my character.”
The revelation raised his profile, with praise from all quarters of Irish politics and beyond.
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Varadkar’s tenure as Taoiseach was overshadowed by Brexit and the pandemic.
He was widely judged as an effective communicator leading the country into its first lockdown – one of the longest and most stringent imposed in Europe.
He re-registered as a doctor, returning to work once a week while continuing to lead the country.
On Brexit, Varadkar was credited in 2019 with former UK prime minister Boris Johnson for breaking the deadlock on Northern Ireland.
But a resulting deal – which effectively keeps the UK-run province within the European single market and customs union – remains a point of tension between Brussels and London.
Varadkar’s image has more recently been hit by a police investigation into his leaking of a government pay deal for general practitioners to a friend.
In July, the director of public prosecutions confirmed they would not pursue a case against him, which might have jeopardised his return as prime minister.
Varadkar’s private life has also been in the spotlight in recent weeks after he was filmed socialising at a Dublin nightclub.
The footage, which has been viewed millions of times on social media, has sparked debate over privacy in public life and social media regulation.
Defended by government colleagues, Varadkar responded by saying he would not comment on the personal matter.
But he added that “everyone makes errors in judgement”. – AFP, December 16, 2022
