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Ireland’s presumptive new premier, Simon Harris, formally launched his bid for leadership of his centre-right Fine Gael party on Thursday, saying he would bring “energy and enthusiasm” to the role and “give it my all”.
Harris broke his silence after an extraordinary two days in Irish politics during which Taoiseach Leo Varadkar resigned unexpectedly on Wednesday as party leader, citing unspecified personal and political reasons, and Harris mount a campaign that saw all his potential rivals back him.
Within 12 hours of Varadkar’s bombshell announcement, Harris, the higher education minister, appeared to have clinched the nomination unopposed, putting him on course to become Ireland’s youngest ever taoiseach at the age of 37.
“I’m in. I want to be the next leader of Fine Gael. I’m ready to step up. I’m ready to serve,” Harris told broadcaster RTÉ.
From early on Thursday, ministers, senators, local councillors and other party figures came out in support of Harris while potential rivals, including social protection minister Heather Humphreys and public expenditure minister Paschal Donohoe, announced they would not be running.
The grey-haired father of two young children, who is long believed to have had his eye on the top job, said he was “overwhelmed, honoured and a little taken aback” by the level of support he had received.
He said he would announce his vision for the party in the coming days and “I intend to give it my all”.
Fine Gael, which has been struggling to gain momentum in opinion polls, had been preparing for a leadership contest, with bids due to close next Monday lunchtime.
It was not immediately clear whether Harris, who has previously held the justice and health portfolios in the coalition government, would be declared victor before then if he is unopposed. He could be confirmed as Ireland’s youngest taoiseach on April 9.
A Fine Gael spokeswoman said campaigning scheduled for next week in three cities was still likely to go ahead, even if there were no contest, to give Harris a chance to set out his stall to the party base.
Harris, who has been a lawmaker since 2011 — never in opposition — comes from County Wicklow, south of Dublin, and has a reputation as an energetic minister.
His challenge would be to reinvigorate Fine Gael, which governs in coalition with the centrist Fianna Fáil and Green party, ahead of local and European elections on June 7 and a general election due by March 2025.
Varadkar’s dramatic resignation made it likely that Ireland’s general election would not now be held until next year, analysts said, to allow a new taoiseach time to make their mark. Before Varadkar’s announcement, expectations had been for an election this autumn.
Varadkar, who was in Brussels on Thursday where he ruled out taking an EU job, had previously been Ireland’s youngest premier when he first took office in 2017 aged 38.
Neale Richmond, a junior business minister who was one of the first party figures to endorse Harris publicly, told RTÉ he had the “energy, experience and compassion” for the country’s top job.
“Now is the opportunity for a step change [in the party],” he added.
Sinn Féin, the opposition party that is the most popular in the country according to opinion polls, led calls for an immediate general election.
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