In January 2015, a casually dressed Leo Varadkar, Ireland’s then Minister for Health, sat in the studios of RTE Radio and announced he was gay. “It’s not something that defines me. I’m not a half-Indian politician or a doctor politician or a gay politician for that matter…it is part of my character, I suppose,” he told the station.
What does his win mean?
Defining or not, it was his personal and racial profile that grabbed global headlines in recent days as the 38-year-old doctor comfortably won the leadership contest of the Fine Gael Party, and prepares to take over as Taoiseach (Prime Minister) later this month after gaining the necessary support of the lower legislative chamber.
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While international media extolled the societal changes that enabled an openly gay person with an immigrant background to lead a predominately Catholic country that had only stopped homosexuality being a criminal offence in 1993, many Irish people took to social media to express their frustration over the scant attention paid to Mr. Varadkar’s politics. “Nobody in Ireland cares that Leo Varadkar is gay or half-Indian. We care that he’s a right-wing ideologue, who doesn’t trust women’s choices,” tweeted one woman, of his public declarations of being pro-life, and against abortion on request or demand.
How did he get into politics?
The son of a Mumbai doctor who moved to England and then Ireland, and an Irish nurse, Mr. Varadkar grew up in Dublin, attending the prestigious and private King’s Hospital school, and then Trinity College, Dublin, where he studied law before switching to medicine.
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While his family was non-political, from his early days as a medical student he began to dabble in party politics. An RTE interview from 1999 provides a glimpse of his motivation, ambition and confidence: “If you want to change things, politics is the best way to do that,” he said, speaking with the ease of a seasoned politician rather than a rookie. “I’ve realised that doctors can only help change a certain number of patients but a Minister of Health can really change things,” he said, citing Fine Gael’s pro-European stance, and liberal economic policies for his own enthusiasm.
What is his politics?
While Mr. Varadkar’s decision to come out as the country prepared for a referendum on same sex marriage was seen as a courageous step, other moves have sat less comfortably with public sentiment, such as an initiative championed by him, when Minister of Social Protection, to name and shame and bring in other tough measures against perpetrators of welfare fraud.
In 2008, he proposed that unemployed foreigners could be given a lump sum payment if they agreed to leave the country, which was widely condemned for pandering to anti-immigrant sentiment.
In 2007, his suggestion that prisoners could be asked to pay for the “cost of their time in prison” was derided as “loathsome,” by the former ruling Fianna Fáil party, and disowned by his own party. More widely, he has sought to position himself as the politician of the aspirational and determined, pledging to represent those “who get up early in the morning.”
What are we likely to see from him?
While Mr. Varadkar’s charisma, confidence and youth have led to some comparisons with French President Emmanuel Macron and Canada’s Justin Trudeau, his agenda is likely to be quite different. A fierce advocate of the European Union, he will have to contend with the impact of Brexit on relations between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
His predecessor Enda Kenny had lobbied hard with the European Union to recognise Ireland's unique position as Brussels and London start Brexit talks.
He has pledged a referendum on Ireland’s abortion laws and has signalled the need for some change, though his precise position is yet to become clear.
In deeply-Catholic Ireland, religion influences everything from birth to death. Abortion is illegal, unless a mother's life is in danger.
His medical past has clearly remained influential as measures aimed at cutting excessive alcohol consumption (and tackling its associated health impact) are expected by Irish media to be among his earliest legislative initiatives.