Leo Varadkar cut an emotional figure this afternoon, as he announced his resignation as Taoiseach.
The Dublin West TD made a shock announcement outside Government Buildings at Lunchtime.
In his speech, the outgoing Fine Gael leader said that becoming Taoiseach was “the most fulfilling time of his life”
Having beaten Simon Coveney to become successor to Enda Kenny in 2017, he has led Government, but there have been turbulent times.
Following the 2020 election, his Fine Gael Party failed to take enough seats for a majority Government, but he still held onto his position, and formed the current Government with Fianna Fail and the Green Party. Part of this agreement was that there would be a ‘rotating Taoiseach’
“After seven years in office, I don’t feel I’m the best person for that job anymore”.
“My reasons for stepping down are both personal and political” says Ireland’s former PM, Leo Varadkar. https://t.co/xuWXkermvB
📺 Sky 501 pic.twitter.com/g5chE8ag24
— Sky News (@SkyNews) March 20, 2024
Previously, Varadkar had admitted it was going to be difficult for his party to contest elections this year. A General election will likely to follow local and European elections this summer. Yesterday Ciaran Cannon became the tenth deputy to announce he would not be contesting the election.
The Taoiseach has also come under mounting pressure on the back of a failed referendum campaign.
A new Taoiseach will be in place after the Easter break.
