Status: 17.12.2022 4:35 p.m
Ireland’s Deputy Prime Minister Varadkar has taken over as Prime Minister. As agreed in the coalition agreement, he will replace the previous incumbent, Martin, who will now become his deputy. Varadkar already led a government until 2020.
Ireland’s former Prime Minister Leo Varadkar returns to power. In a planned change, he took over the office from Micheál Martin. Members of Parliament voted in a special session of Parliament to appoint Varadkar as his successor. Shortly thereafter, he was officially confirmed in office by President Michael D. Higgins.
Martin has been Prime Minister of Ireland since the 2020 general election which resulted in a coalition agreement between his party Fianna Fáil and Varadkars Fine Gael. When the government was formed with the Greens, the parties agreed that Martin would initially take over as prime minister and that Varadkar would be his deputy for the first half of the five-year term. Then the two men should swap offices.
Several castling in the cabinet
In his acceptance speech, Varadkar pledged to address the housing and cost-of-living crises for the remainder of the government’s term. He wants to offer hope and housing, economic opportunities and a fair start for everyone. Varadkar previously headed a Fine Gael government from 2017 to 2020, sanctioned by Martin’s Fianna Fail.
Martin, 62, submitted his resignation to President Higgins in the morning. He called the post of prime minister a great honor and said he was now looking forward to the second phase of government. With the planned replacement of the prime minister, some ministers are also changing their posts.
Historical Coalition
The formation of the centre-right Green coalition government in Ireland two years ago was considered historic because, while Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are both centrist parties, they were on opposing sides in the Irish Civil War a century ago. They have dominated Irish politics for decades but, as of 2020, had never formed a government together.
The next elections in Ireland are scheduled for 2025 at the latest. The largest opposition party is currently the left-wing Sinn Fein, which is also the only party in the British province of Northern Ireland. Sinn Fein has long been the political arm of the underground organization IRA, which fought at gunpoint during the civil war in Northern Ireland to unite the two parts of Ireland. In the meantime, the party has renounced violence and also carried out a generational change.