The Prime Minister of Ireland, Leo Varadkar, announced his resignation this Wednesday by surprise. He Taoist (as the head of the republic's government is usually called in the Irish term) will remain in office for at least a month, until his party, the conservative Fine Gael, elects a replacement. The decision does not imply an electoral advance. The current Government is made up of the country's two historic political formations, Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, which joined forces to prevent the access to power of the party with the most votes in the last general elections, held three years ago: Sinn. Féin, former political arm of the IRA terrorist organization.
In the distribution agreed between the two parties, it was up to Fine Gael to preside over the Executive in the second part of the mandate, and will be able to elect a replacement for Varadkar. The next general elections are scheduled for March next year.
“My reasons for resigning are both personal and political”; The Prime Minister explained in a speech full of emotion, in front of the Dublin Government Buildings, which house, among others, the Taoiseach's Department. Varadkar has described his seven years at the head of the Executive – over two terms – as the “fullest time of his life”, and has been convinced that his party will be able to obtain a good result in the next elections.
However, it is precisely the bad electoral omens that would explain the withdrawal of the politician, who announced his irrevocable decision to his party and coalition partners on Tuesday. Polls indicate a worrying decline for Fine Gael, and at least eleven of its current 33 deputies (in a Parliament with 160 seats) have already announced that they do not plan to stand for re-election. In a system that grants a clear electoral advantage to the representative who already has a seat over the one who intends to take it away, this massive withdrawal gives a clear idea of the internal mood in the party.
After some reflection, Varadkar explained, he has come to the conclusion that only a new leader and candidate could ensure that the current Government could be re-elected. “After seven years in office, I do not feel like the best person to do this job,” he said.
Its government partner, Fianna Fáil, has 36 seats. The same as Sinn Féin, which nevertheless achieved, in quantitative terms, more vote support than any of the other two historic parties. Its representatives, along with other opposition parties, have already demanded an early election.
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Fianna Fáil leader Michéal Martin, who served as prime minister for the first two years of the coalition and now serves as foreign secretary, has paid tribute to Varakar and acknowledged his shock: “To be honest, I was quite surprised. listen to what their intentions were,” he acknowledged.
(Breaking news. There will be an update soon)
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