Dublin: Ireland Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Wednesday announced he would step down as Irish PM and the leader of the governing Fine Gael party. "I am resigning as president and leader of Fine Gael effective today and will resign as the Taoiseach (prime minister) as soon as my successor is able to take up that office," Varadkar told reporters gathered outside government buildings in Dublin.
He said his reasons were “both personal and political” and he had no firm future plans. He said he plans to remain in parliament as a backbench lawmaker. Varadkar, 45, has had two spells as taoiseach, or prime minister — between 2017 and 2020, and again since December 2022 as part of a job-share with Micheál Martin, head of coalition partner Fianna Fáil.
Ireland's openly gay PM
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 taoiseach.
He played a leading role in campaigns to legalize same-sex marriage, approved in a 2015 referendum, and to repeal a ban on abortion, which passed in vote in 2018. “I’m proud that we have made the country a more equal and more modern place,” Varadkar said in a resignation statement in Dublin.
Political turmoil in Ireland
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 reelection.
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.
(With inputs from agencies)
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