Leo Varadkar has always stood out amongst politicians in Ireland’s history. Being the youngest to hold the office of taoiseach, the first mixed-race Irish head of government, and the first minister publicly acknowledging his homosexuality, he exemplified the changing face of Ireland for many outside observers. This change was concurrent to his introduction into local politics in Dublin West around the beginning of the 21st century, culminating in his election to the Dáil in 2007.
As an elected representative, Varadkar was never shy about creating a controversy; he carved a niche for himself as an audacious young right-wing politician within his party. He willingly embraced his fiscal conservative image, much to the surprise of his party comrades.
This was evident when Varadkar likened the then-Taoiseach Brian Cowen to a highly respected former Fine Gael leader. “You’re neither Seán Lemass nor Jack Lynch, and you’re not John Bruton either,” he provocatively told Cowen. “You’re just a Garret FitzGerald. You’ve tripled the national debt, caused the nation’s destruction and now you’ve made a shoddy, wasteful mess of a cabinet reshuffle.” Although this wasn’t the kind of discourse usually associated with aspiring Fine Gael proponents, it further cemented Varadkar’s image as an impatient go-getter.
However, during his tenure in government, those traits began to soften over time. His tenure at the helm of big-budget departments such as Health and Social Protection seemed to rein in his enthusiasm for reducing state roles. However, his propensity for making impromptu remarks, often annoying his political nemeses (and more often than not, also his allies) remained constant. As did his verbal commitment to reducing the tax pressure for “the people who get up early in the morning”.
During the tenure of preceding taoiseach Enda Kenny, the ministerial accomplishments of Leo Varadkar were not especially noteworthy. Despite his involvement with the Department of Health and Social Protection during a period of stringent post-economic-crash austerity, he emerged relatively untouched. He assumed power at the end of Kenny’s era post the 2016 elections, having established a significant majority within the parliamentary party. The proposition Varadkar presented was clear: a new, youthful leader more in-sync with modern-day Ireland, capable of overturning 2016’s setbacks and reinstating Fine Gael as the dominant political party. However, this never transpired in 2020 and looked improbable in the succeeding election.
Varadkar’s time as taoiseach is characterised by both accomplishments and failures. The responsibility of addressing the escalating housing crisis was given to Eoghan Murphy, Varadkar’s leadership campaign manager. Despite earnest efforts, the results were underwhelming. Even though improvements to the health service were painfully slow, the economy showed steady progress, largely due to foreign direct investment. In public perception, Varadkar was linked with the triumphant social reforms stemming from the referendums on marriage equality and abortion rights.
During two major external upheavals, Varadkar’s political adeptness was evident. Under his governance, Ireland’s European Union allies remained united in their interests during the post-Brexit referendum disorder. He also executed a noteworthy political move in the agreement with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson in November 2019, resulting in the Northern Ireland protocol. Furthermore, during the onset of the Covid pandemic, his frank and composed address to the nation regarding medical realities was a stark juxtaposition to the indecisiveness and chaos witnessed in London and Washington during that period.
The tripartite Coalition established in the summer of 2020 has upheld the governmental expenditure escalation that commenced during the Covid era, capitalising on the robust surplus proceeds from corporation tax. As political influence has skewed leftward, Varadkar’s Fine Gael has conformed, even though theoretically, they still uphold centrist-right ideologies. The future direction of the party under any potential leadership remains ambiguous. However, what is evident is that Varadkar’s anticipated resurgence to invigorate the party upon resuming office as the Taoiseach in December 2022 has fallen short of expectations. The static poll results and the consistent resignation of TDs prior to the forthcoming election continues to drain party morale.
Varadkar’s exit also establishes a new political precedent. Other than Éamon de Valera and Sean Lemass, previous Taoisigh vacated the office either due to elongated periods of internal political strain or subsequent to electoral losses. Both de Valera and Lemass were advanced in years upon their resignation. Contrastingly, Varadkar, currently 45, is both the youngest Taoiseach to assume and to vacate the office, catching everyone off guard in the process.
Varadkar’s 13-year unbroken tenure on the Cabinet equates the standing record for any Fine Gael politician in the nation’s history (tied with Simon Coveney), which could partly account for his decision to resign. Recent reportage on the strains and hostility impelling many elected officials to quit politics could imply that it’s not altogether surprising that the most pressurised role would logically be the first to prompt a resignation.