Nearly half of Fine Gael parliamentary party endorses 37-year-old as string of potential rivals rule themselves out
The contest to become Ireland’s next prime minister is turning into a one-horse race after the higher education minister, Simon Harris, secured the backing of nearly half his parliamentary party before he had even confirmed he was running.as Fine Gael leader and taoiseach shocked the country, Harris had been endorsed by 24 of the party’s 54 TDs , senators and MEPs.
“I am declaring. I’m in and I intend to give this my all,” he told the public broadcaster RTÉ. “Whether there is a contest or not, I will be approaching this with vigour and energy. I will be listening to members across the country.” Speaking at an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday, Varadkar said he would follow party tradition by not endorsing any one candidate to succeed him since that would “allow me to support wholeheartedly whoever is elected as the next leader”.
He also took issue with those complaining about the timing of his departure months out from a general election. “There needs to be turnover politics,” Varadkar said. “Turnover is normal and not bad.”
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