Leo Varadkar: I am no longer best man to be Irish PM

Leo Varadkar, the Irish prime minister, has announced his immediate resignation as party leader and plans to step down as taoiseach once his successor from Fine Gael is appointed.

In his resignation announcement, Varadkar expressed gratitude for the opportunity to lead his country, describing it as “the most fulfilling time of my life.” He cited “personal and political” reasons for his decision and acknowledged that he no longer feels he is the most suitable candidate for the position.

Varadkar made history as Ireland’s youngest prime minister when he assumed the leadership of Fine Gael at the age of 38 in 2017. Currently, he heads the coalition government in Dublin, in partnership with Fianna Fáil and the Green Party.

Addressing the public from the government buildings in Dublin on Wednesday, Varadkar said he “led Ireland from unemployment to full employment, from budget deficit to budget surplus, from austerity to prosperity”.

Varadkar added that he was “proud that we have made the country a more equal and more modern place when it comes to the rights of children, the LGBT community, equality for women and their bodily autonomy”.