Leo Varadkar returns as Irish PM – and has a lot in common with Sunak | world News

[ad_1]

Leo Varadkar returned to the office of the Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) in keeping with the agreement underlying the coalition government.

The leader of Fine Gael, who has been Tanist (Deputy Prime Minister) for the past two years, has swapped roles with Fianna Fail leader Michel Martin.

Varadkar, 43, was nominated during a special session of the Irish parliament before traveling to meet the president.

He told the House of Representatives that the coalition was born with a “spirit of togetherness” during the pandemic and said he intended to continue that.

He added that “providing hope, housing, economic opportunity and a fair start for all” would be his mission.

Image: Leo Varadkar speaking to the media

Leo Varadkar made history in 2017, becoming Ireland’s youngest Prime Minister and the first openly gay Taoiseach.

The son of an Indian doctor and an Irish nurse, he and Rishi Sunak share similar heritages and politics.

Aoife Moore, political correspondent for The Sunday Times in Ireland, said: “Leo Varadkar is our first ever gay Taoiseach and our first ever minority Taoiseach, Rishi Sunak our first minority prime minister…so this is a fresh start.”

She added, “Rishi Sunak has already indicated that he is keen to strike a deal on Brexit… The two men will have that in their minds, that they want to sort this out.”

But the sorting will not be easy when unionists hold him personally responsible for the Brexit borders in the Irish Sea.

During the negotiations, Leo Varadkar warned the EU that a hard north-south border could lead to IRA violence.

In Loyalist areas, they mark his return as Taoiseach by erecting posters threatening to resume Loyalist violence instead.

Billy Hutchinson, a loyalist ex-prisoner and now leader of the small Progressive Unionist Party, said: “When anyone hates anyone, anger comes first and that’s what happens.

“You can get into an argument with your neighbors but you have to resolve it.

“From this point of view, if he really wants the Republic of Ireland to work, he needs to make sure he has friendly neighbours,” he added.

Leo Varadkar was embroiled in controversy and a police investigation over his leaking of the GP report and was not as popular in opinion polls as he was.

A video of him in a Dublin nightclub, posted online two weeks ago, has raised questions about privacy laws and also about his own judgment.

But he hopes he has at least two years to turn things around before the next general election.

[ad_2]