Simon Harris is set to become Ireland’s youngest premier after he was confirmed on Sunday as the new leader of the Fine Gael party.
The further and higher education minister, 37, is expected to replace Leo Varadkar, who made a shock resignation as taoiseach (prime minister) on Wednesday.
As the sole candidate for the leadership, Mr. Harris was confirmed as new party leader in Athlone by Willie Geraghty, chairman of Fine Gael’s executive council, after the nomination closed at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
With the support of Fine Gael’s coalition partners, he will be formally elected as taoiseach in the Dail (Parliament) on April 9 following the Easter recess.
Mr. Harris announced his candidature on Thursday night following a series of endorsements from within the Fine Gael parliamentary party and after a number of senior colleagues said they did not intend to stand for the leadership.
It came after Mr. Varadkar unexpectedly announced on Wednesday that he’s stepping down for “both personal and political” reasons.
Mr. Varadkar said he believes a new leader would be “better placed” than him to lead the party to the next election after “careful consideration, and some soul searching.”
After Mr. Harris was confirmed as leader, Fine Gael deputy leader Simon Coveney, who was tipped as a potential competitor following Mr. Varadkar’s resignation, confirmed that he will run again in the next general election.
Appearing in Athlone, flanked by party ministers, Mr. Coveney said “yes, I am” when asked to clarify if he’s planning to run again.
Mr. Coveney also said it was a matter for the incoming taoiseach to decide whether current ministers stayed in their posts.
Also speaking in Athlone, Mr. Harris said his leadership was a moment for Fine Gael to reconnect and reset.
The incoming taoiseach pledged to support “businesses, especially small businesses” and go back to the “decent, hardworking grassroots” of Fine Gael.
“I want this party to fight against populism and deliberate polarisation,” he said.
“We must and we will do this with civility, with honesty, with a determination to debate without rancour and personal demonisation.
“But let no-one mistake my civility for lack of resolve.
“I know I won’t get everything right. But I am going to bring energy and renewal to this party.
“In the hours, days and weeks ahead I will be going back to the decent, hardworking grassroots of this party and listening carefully to what you want to see happen next.”
Mr. Harris is one of Ireland’s most visible government ministers and a strong media performer. His keen social media presence led one opponent in parliament to dub him the “TikTok taoiseach.”
He will have no more than a year to save the coalition from defeat at parliamentary elections. Polls for the last three years have put Sinn Fein, a left-wing party that backs unification with Northern Ireland, as the favourite to head 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, though they again broadly showed smaller parties and independent candidates as the beneficiaries over the government parties.
A Business Post/Red C poll conducted before Mr. Varadkar’s exit put Sinn Fein’s lead over a stalling Fine Gael at 6 percentage points, while an Irish Independent/Ireland Thinks survey after he quit showed a 5-point edge after a small rise for Fine Gael.
While the economy grew strongly under Mr. Varadkar, successive governments, of which Mr. Harris has been part, have struggled to tackle a decade-long housing crisis and, more recently, the pressure from record numbers of asylum seekers and refugees.
Inheriting a three-party coalition government working off an agreed policy programme will give Mr. Harris little room for any major new policy initiatives.
