[Politics] eo Varadkar: I am no longer best man to be Irish PM

[X A V I ™]

 

Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar will step down as party leader immediately and will resign as taoiseach as soon as his Fine Gael successor is selected.

Announcing his resignation, Mr Varadkar described leading his country as "the most fulfilling time of my life".

He was Ireland's youngest PM in 2017 when he became Fine Gael leader.

He currently leads the coalition government in Dublin, along with Fianna Fáil and the Green Party.

Speaking from the steps of government buildings in Dublin on Wednesday, Mr Varadkar said he had "led Ireland from unemployment to full employment, from budget deficit to budget surplus, from austerity to prosperity".

Mr Varadkar added that he was "proud that we have made the country a more equal and more modern place when it comes to the rights of children, the LGBT community, equality for women and their bodily autonomy".

During his time as taoiseach, Mr Varadkar championed referendums to change the Irish constitution legalising same-sex marriage and abortion.

Mr Varadkar also listed work to improve the affordability of childcare among his achievements as well as increasing government spending on arts and culture, international development, and public infrastructure.

He said that he felt the current government "could be re-elected" but he felt he was "not the best person for the job anymore".

In the election of 2020, Mr Varadkar led his party to a third-place finish in terms of number of seats in Dáil Éireann, the lower house in the country's parliament.

As part of the coalition deal struck between the parties it was agreed that Mr Varadkar and Micheál Martin would each hold the position of taoiseach for two years.

In 2020, Mr Martin was appointed taoiseach with Mr Varadkar serving as his tánaiste (deputy PM), before the two swapped roles in 2022.

Speaking after Mr Varadkar's resignation announcement, Mr Martin said he had been "surprised" by the decision.

"I want to take the opportunity to thank him sincerely, we got on very well," Mr Martin added.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68616372