Achi news desk-
The Irish parliament has elected Simon Harris as the country’s new and youngest ever prime minister, to succeed Leo Varadkar following his shocking resignation last month.
On Tuesday, members of parliament erupted in cheers as Harris’ nomination was confirmed 88-69, after securing support from some independent lawmakers, as well as his coalition partners Fianna Fail and the Green Party.
The 37-year-old former health and higher education minister, best known for helping to steer Ireland’s initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic, was elected unopposed as the new leader of the centre-right Fine Gael party last month, days after Varadkar’s shock. exit
“I accept this nomination to serve as Taoiseach [prime minister],” Harris said. “I commit to doing everything in my power to honor the trust you have placed in me.”
Acknowledging his new government’s coalition partners who supported his candidacy, Harris said he intended to lead “in a spirit of unity and collaboration and mutual respect”.
Vowing to re-energize and “reset” his party, Harris told a weekend conference of his members that he intended to steer it back towards “core values” such as promoting business, farming, and law and order.
I am very honored to become Taoiseach of this great country today.
I will be a Taoiseach for All, a Taoiseach who will work every day to make the hopes, dreams and aspirations of all our people come true.
To read my full speech: https://t.co/iZs3RDlQ0M https://t.co/4kmgxJR6kj
— Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) April 9, 2024
The election of Harris as prime minister ends a meteoric political rise. He joined Fine Gael’s youth wing at the age of 16 and quickly rose through its ranks.
A county councilor at the age of 22, he was elected to parliament at the age of 24 in 2011. At the time he was the youngest member of parliament and was nicknamed “Babi’r Dail” (parliament of Ireland).
He was appointed health minister in 2016 aged just 29 and higher education minister in 2020.
Reorganization
As Ireland’s new leader, Harris faces an extraordinary to-do list, including tackling the housing and homelessness crises, and criticism of the government’s policy on asylum seekers.
One of his first jobs will be to choose his cabinet of ministers. He is expected to announce a reshuffle of his Fine Gael team – which makes up seven of the 18 cabinet seats – on Tuesday.
Harris said last week that some contestants will be “delighted”, while others will be “personally disappointed”.
“I will do my best to use the best judgment I have in the mandate given to me by this party to put together the best cabinet,” he added.
When he was chosen last month, Harris told party members he would repay their faith with “hard work, with blood, sweat and tears, day after day, with responsibility, with humility and civility”.
He also said that he would pursue a “more planned and sustainable” immigration policy, following more tension over the issue, and that he would “fight against the dangers of populism”.
With a reputation for slick communication skills, Harris will also urgently seek to galvanize his struggling party, which is lagging behind in the polls as key elections loom.
Ireland votes in local and European referendums on June 7, while the next general election must be held by March 2025.
Fine Gael fell to third place in the last general election in 2020, well behind left-wing nationalist Sinn Fein, which secured the largest share of the vote.
In the last three years, opinion polls have put Sinn Fein, which supports unification with Northern Ireland, a British province, as the preferred choice to lead the next government.
Before Harris, Varadkar was the country’s youngest ever leader when he was first elected aged 38, as well as Ireland’s first openly gay prime minister. His mother is Irish and his father is Indian, which also made Varadkar Ireland’s first biracial taoiseach.
In March, Varadkar, 45, said it was the right time for him to step aside. “My reasons for stepping down now are personal and political, but mostly political,” he said without elaborating.
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