(CN) — Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar announced his unexpected resignation Wednesday, citing “personal and political reasons” for cutting his term in office short.
Varadkar, who began his second stint as the taoiseach — a position equivalent to prime minister — in December 2022, said in an impromptu news conference that he was not the “best person for the job anymore,” while also resigning as leader of his Fine Gael party with immediate effect.
He will continue to serve as prime minister until his party elects a new head, sometime in April. The decision leaves the country’s coalition government without a leader in the run-up to a general election, which must be held within the next 12 months.
Varadkar first became taoiseach in June 2017, replacing Edna Kelly as Fine Gael’s leader at a time when the center-right party formed a minority government in Ireland’s parliament, the Dáil. He became Ireland’s first openly gay head of government — a notable milestone in the once deeply Catholic republic. At 38 years old, he also became the youngest person to ever hold the post.
Riding initially high approval ratings, Varadkar was instrumental in implementing the process which led to the legalization of abortion in Ireland, a move approved by 66% of the public in a 2018 referendum. He was also perceived as successful in negotiations with the British government over Brexit, ensuring no border infrastructure would be established on the Irish island.
His decision to call an election in February 2020 seemed assured with Fine Gael performing strongly in polling. However a late surge from rivals Sinn Féin shook up the election campaign, with Fine Gael ultimately winning fewer seats than both the left-wing insurgents and historic rivals Fianna Fáil.
Despite significant disruption from the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, Varadkar ultimately negotiated a coalition deal with Fianna Fáil and the smaller Green Party in order to keep his party in government.
Part of the deal involved a job rotation with Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin for the position of taoiseach. With Martin serving from 2020 until 2022, Varadkar had been expected to complete his term — which ends in March 2025 at the latest.
However, Varadkar’s decision to stand down upends the stability that the job-rotation deal had provided for the coalition government. Fine Gael will now undergo a leadership election, with the winner expected to assume the position as taoiseach.
“I believe this government can be reelected, and I believe my party, Fine Gael, can gain seats in the next Dáil,” said Varadkar in the news conference. “Most of all, I believe the reelection of this three-party government will be the right thing for the future for our country, continuing to take us forward, protecting all that’s been achieved and building on it."
Varadkar did not go into detail about the reasons for his early resignation, fueling speculation that it was prompted by the aftermath of a botched government attempt to change the constitution.
A double referendum on women’s rights and family care held just under two weeks ago spectacularly backfired on the government. Presenting the polls as the latest push for modernization in an increasingly liberal nation, Varadkar had claimed that if the proposals were rejected by the public it would be “a step backwards.”
Despite his advocacy, however, the public rejected the proposals overwhelmingly. The family amendment was voted down by 68% of the public, whilst the care amended was opposed by a whopping 74% — making it the most unpopular constitutional proposal in the history of the Irish state.
The scale of the rejection has left the government — which had expected the changes to pass — looking starkly out of touch with an increasingly anti-establishment Irish electorate.
Varadkar was forced to field much of the blame, having proposed the changes initially. Critics say it was his decision not to adopt the full recommendations from citizen’s assemblies — an integral part of the process in previous referenda. In addition, he is accused of rushing the process so that the votes would take place on International Women’s Day, a move dismissed as a gimmick by political opponents.
As the government’s chief communicator, Varadkar also failed to make a persuasive case for the changes to the public — many of whom saw the amendments as either overly technical or problematically vague. Following the votes Varadkar accepted blame, saying that “there are a lot of people who got this wrong and I am certainly one of them.”
Whatever the true reason for the resignation, it comes at a time of declining confidence in the coalition. Between them, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have continuously been in government since 1932 — a duopoly that has dominated the politics of Ireland.
However, Sinn Féin has ridden an anti-establishment wave of popular sentiment in recent years, now positioning themselves as a government-in waiting after topping the popular vote at the previous election and dominating opinion polls ever since.
In recent months, they have faced increased competition from a new political force of anti-migrant independent movements, which are collectively also starting to outpoll the government parties. The result is a highly unpredictable set of circumstances as the country approaches what is likely to be a landmark election.
Fianna Fáil and the Greens have both indicated that they expect the government to complete its term before calling an election, with Fianna Fáil’s Martin saying such an approach “creates stability, avoids short-term decision making and it gives a better policy focus than a short-term electoral run.”
But accusing the government of “limping on and passing the office of taoiseach amongst yourselves,” Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has called for an immediate general election.
“This is a time for change, not just of taoiseach but of government. Fine Gael has been in government for way too long,” she told the Dáil.
Fine Gael’s next leader is expected to be chosen before April 6.
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