#Varadkar calls general election in #Ireland

Voters in the Republic of Ireland will go to the polls on 8 February, one year ahead of schedule, after Taoiseach Leo Varadkar called time on his government, writes Ken Murray.

It will be the first time a general election takes place on a Saturday since Ireland achieved independence from Britain in 1922. Addressing media in Dublin on 14  January, Leo Varadkar said, “I have always said that the election should happen at the best time for the country. Now is that time.”

The decision to call time on the four-year old government comes after a series of departures from his parliamentary party which saw his narrow majority decline to a point where opposition parties had enough combined votes to end his reign in a no-confidence motion.

In 2016 when his predecessor Enda Kenny took office, the arithmetic in the Dáil left the Fine Gael party with no option but to cut a deal with their main opponents in opposition Fianna Fáil. A ‘Confidence and Supply’ arrangement put Enda Kenny in office.

Having stated publicly he would not run for election again, Kenny stepped down in 2017 to be succeeded by Varadkar who became Prime Minister or Taoiseach at the age of 38. However subsequent resignations by fellow TDs Peter Fitzpatrick over abortion legislation and by junior Minister Dara Murphy TD who took up a role with the office of the European People’s Party in Brussels narrowed Varadkar’s majority.

In the meantime his one-time cabinet colleague and former justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald was elected as an MEP last May. This resulted in her seat being won by Mark Ward of Sinn Féin in the Dublin Mid-West by-election last November which all but wiped out Varadkar’s majority. With Independent TDs planning a vote of ‘no confidence’ in Varadkar’s Health Minister Simon Harris in the coming weeks, the embattled Taoiseach has opted to go to the Country.

Speaking in Dublin, Taoiseach Varadkar added that with the British exit from the EU taking place at the end of the month, now is an important time for Ireland to have a strong government as EU/UK trade talks could have serious implications for the Irish economy.

“We have a deal on Brexit that ensures no hard border, citizens’ rights will be protected and the Common Travel Area will remain in place.

“Brexit is not done yet. It’s only half-time,” he said. Varadkar, who is leader of the Fine Gael Party, is expected to have a fight on his hands to return as Taoiseach. His main opponents, Fianna Fáil which is led by Micheál Martin, has narrowed the gap to two points in recent consistent ‘Red C/Sunday Business Post’ polls.

With Fianna Fáil having a bigger membership nationally, the PR system of voting in multi-seat constituencies is likely to see Martin emerge as Taoiseach. However with support for independents growing and The Greens expected to do well, many commentators believe that Micheál Martin may reverse the current scenario by entering in to a ‘confidence and supply’ deal with Varadkar on the opposition bench.

Over 3.2 million persons are eligible to vote for 160 TDs across 39 constituencies and if the outcome is close, negotiations could take some weeks before a new administration takes place.

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