Simon Harris set to become Ireland’s youngest prime minister

Dublin [Ireland]: Following the resignation of Leo Varadkar, the Indian-origin prime minister of Ireland, Simon Harris, is set to become Ireland’s youngest prime minister after being appointed as the new leader of the governing Fine Gael party, reported Al Jazeera.

The 37-year-old Simon Harris said that it was the “absolute honour of my life” to be appointed party leader on Sunday, replacing Leo Varadkar, who resigned unexpectedly on Wednesday, saying the party would be better governed under another leader.

Harris will be voted in as the Republic of Ireland’s youngest-ever prime minister, known as the taoiseach, when the country’s parliament or Oireachtas, next sits on April 9 due to support from Fine Gael’s coalition partners, Al Jazeera reported.

Fine Gael deputy leader Simon Coveney said, “I think he’s done a really good job in securing the leadership in as comprehensive a way as he has.”

Harris told the centre-right party’s members that he would repay their faith with “hard work, with blood, sweat and tears, day in and day out with responsibility, with humility and with civility.”

Harris further voiced out his priorities, insisting that Fine Gael “stands for law and order” and telling members that he wanted to “take our flag back” from nationalists to loud cheers.
He also said that he would pursue a “more planned and sustainable” immigration policy, following increased tension over the issue, and that he would “fight against the dangers of populism.”

Further on the international arena, he called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and condemned Russia’s “horrific illegal invasion of Ukraine.”

Moreover, he will have no more than a year to save the coalition from defeat in parliamentary elections, according to Al Jazeera.

In the last three years, polls have put Sinn Fein, a left-wing party that backs unification with Northern Ireland, a British province, as the preferred choice to lead the next government.

However, two more polls on Sunday confirmed a recent trend of support for Sinn Fein dropping off highs of 12-18 months ago.
Harris, formerly a minister for education, research and science, is best known for taking responsibility for Ireland’s COVID-19 response.

Recently, he said that he got involved in politics as an “opinionated, moody teenager” bothered by the lack of educational support for his autistic brother.

Although he has spent most of his adult life in parliament, Harris has cast himself as an “accidental politician,” as reported by Al Jazeera.

Prior to Harris, Leo Varadkar was the country’s youngest-ever leader when first elected at age 38, as well as Ireland’s first openly gay prime minister.

Varadkar made the unexpected statement on Wednesday, stating that he would resign as prime minister as soon as a replacement was selected.

“I am resigning the presidency and leadership of Fine Gael and will resign as taoiseach [prime minister] as soon as my successor is able to take up that office,” Varadkar told reporters in Dublin.

He claimed to have requested that the party select a new leader on April 6 to facilitate the election of a new prime minister following the Easter vacation of parliament.

“My reasons for stepping down now are personal and political, but mainly political,” he said, according to Al Jazeera.
“I have nothing else lined up I have nothing in mind. I have no definite personal or political plans,” he said.

The Indian-origin prime minister of Ireland has had two spells as taoiseach — between 2017 and 2020, and again since December 2022 as part of a job-share with Micheal Martin, head of coalition partner Fianna Fail.

Varadkar’s mother is Irish and his father is Indian, which also made Varadkar Ireland’s first biracial taoiseach.