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The Republic of Ireland will soon have its first openly gay prime minister.
Key points:
- Leo Varadkar overcame ministerial colleague Simon Coveney
- Mr Varadkar will be voted in as prime minister when Parliament next sits on June 13
- "Prejudice has no hold in this republic," he said
Ireland's governing Fine Gael party has elected Leo Varadkar as its new leader — choosing the gay, 38-year-old son of an Indian immigrant to succeed Enda Kenny as prime minister in a striking sign of the country's rapid social change.
Mr Varadkar overcame ministerial colleague Simon Coveney as expected, winning an overwhelming majority among the centre-right party's lawmakers who hope the straight-talking Dubliner can lead them to a third successive term for the first time.
Bar an unexpected development, Mr Varadkar will be voted in as prime minister when Parliament next sits on June 13.
He will then become the Catholic country's first openly gay premier and the youngest person ever to hold the office.
"If my election shows anything, it is that prejudice has no hold in this republic," Mr Varadkar said to huge applause in a speech at Dublin's Mansion House, where Ireland's Parliament first sat almost a century ago.
"I know when my father travelled 5,000 miles to build a new home in Ireland, I doubt that he ever dreamed that one day his son would grow up to be its leader and despite his differences, his son would be judged by his actions not his identity.
"Every proud parent in Ireland today can dream big dreams for their children."
Face of modern-day Ireland
His election marks another chapter in the social change that has swept through the country of 4.6 million people that only decriminalised homosexuality in 1993 but became the first country to adopt same-sex marriage via a popular vote in 2015.
It also shows another face of modern-day Ireland.
Mr Varadkar's father Ashok, who like his son is a doctor, was born in Mumbai in India. He met his wife Miriam, an Irish nurse, in England in the 1970s before moving to Ireland where Mr Varadkar was born.
The generational shift from Mr Kenny, 66, who led the party for 15 years and has been Prime Minister since 2011, will likely be matched with Mr Varadkar's cabinet choices.
Mr Kenny had been under pressure to resign after his party indicated it was dissatisfied with his leadership.
Paschal Donohoe, 42, is expected to be promoted to finance minister, replacing the retiring Michael Noonan.
Mr Varadkar's opponents, who hope his blunt style will prove a liability rather than an asset to Fine Gael, were quick to claim the current social protection minister — who recently led a campaign against "welfare cheats" — would move the Government to the right.
"Leo Varadkar is a Tory. Fine Gael will be dragged even further to right under his leadership and that can only mean further hardship for ordinary people," Gerry Adams, president of the left-wing Sinn Fein opposition party said in a statement.
Varadkar to face challenge of Brexit
Supporters, on the other hand, excitedly compare their new leader to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and new French President Emmanuel Macron, anticipating a rebound from last year's disappointing election where they only returned to power as the senior party in a fragile minority Government.
Fine Gael has already received a bounce, regaining its standing as the most popular party in most opinion polls and Mr Varadkar has pledged to hit the ground running with promises of increased infrastructure spending and further income tax cuts.
However, despite inheriting the fastest-growing economy in Europe, he will have less room to boost spending and cut taxes in his first budget than Mr Kenny enjoyed in each of his last two as Ireland seeks its first balanced budget in a decade.
He will also face the diplomatic and economic challenge of Brexit, which is set to impact neighbouring Ireland more than any other European Union country due to its close trading links with Britain and land border with British-run Northern Ireland.
Reuters
Topics: government-and-politics, community-and-society, world-politics, immigration, gays-and-lesbians, ireland
First posted