After three years in office, Leo Varadkar is today set to be replaced as Taoiseach by Micheál Martin.
While he's set to return to the role in December 2022 if the new government stays the course, for now Mr Varadkar will be stepping back somewhat from the national and international spotlight (although will remain a minister).
It's been a long three years, with the last three months in particular being some of the most consequential of recent times. Here are some of the outgoing Taoiseach's defining moments in office.
Best moments
A symbolic meeting with Mike Pence
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar (left), who is on an official visit to the United States, is accompanied by his partner Matt Barrett (right) as he stands in a group photograph with the US Vice President Mike Pence (second right) and the VP's sister Anne Pence Poynter at the VP's official residence in Washington DC.Leo Varadkar is Ireland’s first gay Taoiseach, something that he himself said ‘would have been unimaginable’ when he was born. A symbolic moment came in 2019, during the Taoiseach’s second St Patrick’s day visit to the US. US vice president Mike Pence has faced severe scrutiny for his past comments on LGBT rights - so it was a particularly noteworthy moment when he welcomed Leo Varadkar and his partner Matthew Barrett to his home for breakfast. It was a moment repeated when Mr Pence visited Ireland a few months later.
The Eighth Amendment campaign
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar (centre) with Minister for Health Simon Harris (centre left) and Fine Gael Campaign Co-ordinator Minister Josepha Madigan (third right) during an event organised by members of Fine Gael pressing for a yes vote in the upcoming referendum on the Eighth Amendment, at the Smock Alley Theatre in Dublin. Picture by: Tom Honan/PA Archive/PA ImagesHow much of a role Leo Varadkar played in his own party’s campaign to repeal the Eighth Amendment is up for debate - indeed, the Taoiseach himself largely left it up to Health Minister Simon Harris to be the public face of the campaign in key TV debates. Nonetheless, the historic result of the vote - and the subsequent liberalisation of Ireland’s abortion laws - was a significant moment for Varadkar’s government, albeit one preceded by decades of fierce work by pro-choice campaigners around the country.
St Patrick’s Day address 2020
The final months of Leo Varadkar’s first term as Taoiseach saw some of the most dramatic events in the history of the State, as the coronavirus crisis led to the country entering lockdown. The Government had to make many extraordinary, unprecedented decisions - and Leo Varadkar often had to announce them to the public. Whether that was a dramatic announcement from Washington about widespread closures, or the move to full lockdown two weeks later, these were moments that brought the country to an effective standstill. But it was perhaps the St Patrick’s Day speech, nestled between those two big decisions, that will really be remembered.
On a day usually defined by festivities and parades, most were instead stuck inside watching a rare televised address to the nation. It was an address that starkly underlined the very real dangers posed by the virus, while also offering a message of hope that we would get through the crisis together. As the Taoiseach noted: "We're asking people to come together as a nation by staying apart from each other."
Love Actually
"I was reminded of that famous scene in Love Actually where Hugh Grant does his dance down the stairs"- Irish PM's thrill of being at No. 10 pic.twitter.com/TLThYRiKht
— Sky News (@SkyNews) June 19, 2017
Leo Varadkar’s first big moment on the world stage after being elected Taoiseach was meeting Theresa May at Downing Street - and he compared it to Love, Actually. Also potentially a worst moment, depending on who you ask.
Worst moments
CervicalCheck scandal
Perhaps the defining controversy of Leo Varadkar’s time in office. It emerged in 2018 that 221 women were not informed that they were given incorrect smear test results before later being diagnosed with cancer. The ensuing scandal dominated headlines many times over the course of 2018 and 2019, culminating in Mr Varadkar making a State apology last October. It was not the only controversy in recent years - from the National Children's Hospital to the National Broadband Plan - but it was perhaps the most damaging to the Fine Gael government.
The Strategic Communications Unit
Critics of Leo Varadkar’s government often accused them of ‘spin’, such as re-announcing policies as part of new plans. What added fuel to their criticisms was the established of the Strategic Communications Unit - quickly nicknamed the ‘spin unit’ by opposition. A dedicated section aimed at “modernising and professionalising government communications”, it was disbanded in 2018 as the SCU itself started becoming the story.
Narrowly avoiding a Christmas election
Leo Varadkar and Frances Fitzgerald. Picture by: Niall Carson/PA Archive/PA ImagesLeo Varadkar was elected as Fine Gael leader and Taoiseach in June 2017, but less than six months later his government faced perhaps its most significant political challenge. The controversy revolved around the then Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald’s handling of the complaint by Garda whistleblower Maurice McCabe. While the Charleton Report later cleared Ms Fitzgerald of wrongdoing, in November 2017 the controversy threatened to collapse the confidence & supply arrangement and therefore the government. It raised the very real prospect of a Christmas election - something most politicians are particularly keen to avoid. The situation was ultimately defused by Ms Fitzgerald’s resignation, but it was nonetheless an early mishap for Leo Varadkar’s young government.
Love Actually
"I was reminded of that famous scene in Love Actually where Hugh Grant does his dance down the stairs"- Irish PM's thrill of being at No. 10 pic.twitter.com/TLThYRiKht
— Sky News (@SkyNews) June 19, 2017
Leo Varadkar’s first big moment on the world stage after being elected Taoiseach was meeting Theresa May at Downing Street - and he compared it to Love, Actually. Also potentially a best moment, depending on who you ask.
