Varadkar resigns with Simon Harris while waiting to be appointed Prime Minister of Ireland

April 8 () –

The Irish Prime Minister, Leo Varadkar, officially resigned from his position this Monday and thus leaves the way free for the new leader of the Fine Gale party, Simon Harris, to be appointed as head of the Government.

Varadkar has handed in his resignation to the Irish president, Michael D. Higgins at the presidential palace or Áras an Uachtaráin, after a meeting with the head of state, according to Irish public television, RTE.

Varadkar will remain in office until Harris takes office, which is expected to occur on Tuesday afternoon.

Before signing his resignation, Varadkar made a statement to RTE in which he took stock of his mandate, with special emphasis on the management of the coronavirus pandemic. “The belief is quite widespread that Ireland did better than most other countries in managing the pandemic. Also the economic situation. We have full employment and a fiscal superhabit. We are the envy of Europe and the envy of the world,” has highlighted.

He has also said he is proud to leave behind a more modern Ireland, with greater equality for women, LGBT people and other minorities. “I don't claim personal credit for any of these things, but I'm proud to have played a significant role,” he stressed.

Yes, he has acknowledged something that he “regrets,” such as “excessive caution at certain times.” “In 2011-12 we did not believe that the economy would rebound so quickly from the crisis,” he said.

Varadkar was prime minister since 2017, but resigned after the clear defeat in the referendum of the proposal to reform the Constitution that his Government promoted to try to modernize the Magna Carta.

He will be succeeded by the Minister of Education, Simon Harris, who has promised to “reset” the historic Fine Gael party to regain the trust of the public.

The Fine Gael party governs in coalition with the other major historical Irish party, Fianna Fáil, and with the Green Party. The result of the referendum was a severe setback for these parties. The opposition is led by the Sinn Féin party, which also supported, although more tepidly, the constitutional reform proposal.