Simon Harris becomes Ireland’s new head of government. The parliament in Dublin elected the 37-year-old on Tuesday as successor to Leo Varadkar, who unexpectedly resigned. Harris, who previously served as Minister of Higher Education, was elected with 88 votes in favor and 69 against. He now becomes the youngest prime minister of his country.
Harris – born in October 1986 – has already held several cabinet positions. Two weeks ago he was the only candidate to take over the position of party leader of the liberal-conservative governing party Fine Gael. The coalition partners – the liberal-conservative Fianna Fáil party and the Greens – support his election as head of government.
The opposition is calling for new elections
However, the left-wing opposition party Sinn Fein called for new elections. Harris will be the third prime minister in a legislature, MP Pearse Doherty criticized. Ireland, with its 5.1 million inhabitants, must elect a new parliament by the spring of 2025.
Varadkar unexpectedly resigned
The previous leader, Varadkar, surprisingly announced his resignation in mid-March. The 45-year-old referred to personal and political reasons. On Monday evening he officially submitted his resignation to the president of EU member state Ireland.
His government had recently suffered defeats in two referendums: it wanted to modernize two places in the constitution on the concept of the family and the role of women in the household, but failed to win a majority. Varadkar was also accused of failures in social and housing policy.
Source: Krone
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