Ireland's Prime Minister Leo Varadkar steps down

The Irish prime minister, Leo Varadkar, has announced that he is standing down from the position and also relinquishing his role as the leader of the governing Fine Gael party. Varadkar announced the surprise move at a press conference in Dublin. His departure as head of the three-party coalition does not automatically trigger a general election and he could be replaced by a new Fine Gael leader.“One part of leadership is knowing when the time has come to pass on the baton to somebody else, and then having the courage to do it,” Varadkar said in an emotional statement. “That time is now. So I am resigning as president and leader of Fine Gael effective today and will resign as taoiseach (TEE-SHUHK) as soon as my successor is able to take up that office.” He said his reasons were “both personal and political”. #LeoVaradkar #IrishPrimeMinister #Taoiseach #Resignation #ShockMove #Ireland #LeadershipChange #PoliticalNews #IrishPolitics #GovernmentReshuffle #PoliticalShift #IrishGovernment #TaoiseachResigns #LeoVaradkarResigns #IrishLeadership #IrishGovernmentCrisis #PoliticalSurprise #IrishNews #ResignationNews #NewLeadership ~HT.178~PR.152~ED.103~GR.125~

Simon Harris became Ireland's prime minister in waiting on Sunday, as nominations concluded for the leadership of the governing Fine Gael party without any other...