\n<\/p>\n
Leo Varadkar, Ireland\u2019s barrier-breaking <\/a>leader, said on Wednesday that he would resign, days after a double referendum in which voters rejected constitutional changes his government had championed, and after years of waning public support for his political party, Fine Gael.<\/p>\n Mr. Varadkar, the son of an Irish nurse and a doctor who was born in Mumbai, became the country\u2019s youngest-ever leader<\/a> when he was named prime minister in 2017<\/a> at the age of 38. He was also the country\u2019s first gay taoiseach, or Irish prime minister, and the first person of South Asian heritage, to hold the position. In many ways, he personified the rapidly changing identity of the modern Irish state.<\/p>\n But Fine Gael, which is ruling in coalition with two other parties, has struggled in recent years, and, ahead of local and European<\/a> elections in June, polls suggest<\/a> public support for the party has flatlined.<\/p>\n \u201cI know this will come as a surprise to many people and a disappointment to some, but I hope you will understand my decision,\u201d Mr. Varadkar told said at a news conference outside Leinster House in central Dublin. \u201cI know that others will \u2014 how shall I put it? \u2014 cope with the news just fine,\u201d he said. \u201cThat is the great thing about living in a democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Citing reasons both \u201cpersonal and political,\u201d Mr. Varadkar, 45, said he would step down from the party leadership effective immediately and would continue to serve as prime minister until Fine Gael elects a new leader before the Easter break. That post is expected to be in filled when the government returns on April 16.<\/p>\n Mr. Varadkar made the unexpected announcement shortly after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday morning, his voice at times cracking with emotion.<\/p>\n There had been no indication of his decision just days earlier when he visited the White House and met with President Biden<\/a> for St. Patrick\u2019s Day. But Mr. Varadkar has been unable to revive the fortunes of Fine Gael since it came third in the 2020 election<\/a>, when the most votes went to Sinn Fein \u2014 the party that has historically called for uniting Northern Ireland, which remains part of the United Kingdom, with the Republic of Ireland. That result was damaging to the longstanding dominance of Fine Gael and Fianna F\u00e1il, which went on to form a coalition government alongside the Green Party.<\/p>\n Eoin O\u2019Malley, an associate professor in political science at Dublin City University, said that while Mr. Varadkar\u2019s announcement was surprising, the party hadn\u2019t been in a strong position politically for some time.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a politician who is going out on a low, in some ways,\u201d Professor O\u2019Malley said, pointing to Mr. Varadkar\u2019s own resignation speech as evidence of that. \u201cThere\u2019s a real sense of a party that is exhausted.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n In the past few months, about a third of Fine Gael\u2019s members of Parliament have announced that they\u2019re retiring from politics ahead of the 2025 election.<\/p>\n And while there is no clear successor waiting in the wings, Mr. Varadkar may have decided to resign because he believes \u201ca younger, more vibrant leader might be the best chance for that party to try and present a new picture,\u201d Professor O\u2019Malley added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Mr. Varadkar first became prime minister in 2017 after his predecessor, Enda Kenny, resigned<\/a> over his handling of a corruption scandal.<\/p>\n A former health minister, he oversaw a 2018 referendum<\/a> that rolled back the country\u2019s ban on abortion, one of a number of measures that reshaped Ireland\u2019s Constitution in ways that reflected the country\u2019s more secular and liberal modern identity. After the coalition government came to power in June 2020, he served as deputy prime minister before again moving into the leadership role as part of the parties\u2019 power-sharing agreement.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Much of Mr. Varadkar\u2019s work since that time, and in the latter half of his first premiership, focused on navigating a post-Brexit landscape that threatened to undermine the 1998 Good Friday Agreement that had forged decades of peace on the island of Ireland.<\/p>\n He was applauded for those efforts, and was seen as crucial to winning major concessions<\/a> from Britain. Those included negotiating a deal with then Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain that avoided a hard border between the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland. <\/p>\n At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Mr. Varadkar, who had trained as a doctor before becoming a politician, rejoined the medical register to work part time<\/a>.<\/p>\n But Mr. Varadkar\u2019s return to the political leadership role in 2022 \u2014 even after his party had fallen to third place in the last election \u2014 had been in many ways an unexpected and challenging second act.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s not the Leo Varadkar that we saw in his previous time in that role,\u201d said David Farrell, a professor of politics at University College Dublin. \u201cThe energy had definitely started to go out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cSuddenly immigration has become a really big topic,\u201d ahead of a general election next year, Professor Farrell said. \u201cWe\u2019ve always expected this sort of potential for a far-right agenda to take root here, and we are now beginning to see some of the signs, unfortunately,\u201d he added. Even Sinn Fein, still the most popular party in the polls, has seen its support fall as a result<\/a> of its policies on immigration, while support for independent candidates who weigh in on immigration had risen.<\/p>\n Mr. Varadkar recently faced criticism for a failed campaign on a double referendum earlier this month that the coalition government had expected to win. Irish voters rejected two proposed changes to the Constitution<\/a> that would have removed language about women\u2019s duties being in the home and broadened the definition of family beyond marriage.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Analysts said the results partly reflected a weak campaign for the amendments, confusion over the proposals and a lower-than-expected voter turnout that cast a spotlight on the government\u2019s approach.<\/p>\n As he announced his resignation, Mr. Varadkar acknowledged that despite a number of successes, there were \u201cother areas in which we have been much less successful and some in which we have gone backwards.\u201d He said that he would \u201cleave it to others to point them out on a day like this.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know, inevitably, there will be speculation as to the \u2018real reason\u2019 for my decision,\u201d he said during the announcement. \u201cThese are the real reasons. That\u2019s it. I have nothing else lined up or in mind. No definite personal or political plans, but I am looking forward to having the time to think about them.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Miche\u00e1l Martin, the Fianna F\u00e1il leader and deputy prime minister, said on Wednesday that he and Eamon Ryan, the Green Party leader, had been briefed on Tuesday night by Mr. Varadkar about his decision to step down.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cTo be honest, I was surprised, obviously, when I heard what he was going to do, but I wanted to take the opportunity to thank him sincerely,\u201d Mr. Martin said.<\/p>\n Mr. Martin said he felt confident that the government had a clear mandate and a clear program for moving forward.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, the news was met mostly with shrugs in Galway, in Ireland\u2019s west, where many hadn\u2019t even heard the news of Mr. Varadkar\u2019s departure. Others, though, saw the unexpected announcement as proof of Ireland\u2019s headwinds.<\/p>\n \u201cThe country\u2019s in a right mess,\u201d said Camillus Kelly, 69. He pointed to the housing crisis and strained social service programs as evidence of the issues. His wife has health problems, Mr. Kelly said, and \u201cwe have to fight for every bit of support we get.\u201d<\/p>\n Others, though, appreciated Mr. Varadkar\u2019s steady leadership. His long tenure in Irish politics, said Paddi Monaghan, had left a mark, although the resounding \u201cno\u201d votes in this month\u2019s referendums<\/a> were evidence of the challenges.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m very sad,\u201d said Ms. Monaghan. \u201cI thought he was excellent. It\u2019s not easy, politics today.\u201d<\/p>\n Ali Watkins contributed reporting from Galway, Ireland.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n