Leo Varadkar: Gay, half-Indian, conservative – and favourite to be Ireland’s next leader Leo Varadkar, Ireland’s minister for social protection, is the strong favourite to replace Enda Kenny as Taoiseach of Ireland. The […]

Leo Varadkar, Ireland’s minister for social protection, is the strong favourite to replace Enda Kenny as Taoiseach of Ireland.

The 38-year-old, who came out as gay during the same-sex marriage referendum campaign in Ireland in 2015, has dropped to 2/5 with Paddy Power to become the next leader of Fine Gael, which leads a minority government.

If he were to win, it would mark a milestone for the historically very conservative country. The once profound influence of the Catholic Church has gradually waned in recent decades, but sexual activity between people of the same sex was still illegal as recently as 1993.

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Mr Kenny, the country’s current prime minister, is under pressure to step down after a scandal over the treatment of police whistleblowers. He is likely to leave after fulfilling a diplomatic commitment in Washington DC on 17 March.

New challenges

The new Taoiseach will have to deal with the Trump administration in 2018, following the convention to visit the US President every St Patrick’s Day – but before then, the challenges of Brexit must be dealt with.

Ireland is particularly vulnerable to the changes Britain’s exit could cause due to its smaller economy and large amount of trade with its neighbour.

Enda Kenny and Theresa May appeared to get on relatively well in their meetings, but experts are suspicious of the British Prime Minister’s ability to deliver the open border and unchanged relationship she says she wants.

If Mr Varadkar were to become Taoiseach – and Fine Gael’s minority government survived – he would be slated to meet Pope Francis in 2018 when he visits Ireland.

The visit to the mostly secular society will contrast with Pope John Paul II’s 1979 trip, when the Polish pontiff addressed 1.25 million people.

First minority ethnic to lead Ireland

Mr Varadkar, whose father is Indian, would be the first minority ethnic Taoiseach of Ireland as well as the first gay man to hold the role.

He would be the fourth openly gay prime minister in the world after Belgium’s Elio Di Rupo, Iceland’s Johanna Sigurdardottir and Luxembourg’s Xavier Bettel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HqBY0AHuv0

Irish Minister Leo Varadkar delivers heartfelt speech calling for same-sex marriage

The politician came out in a radio interview in 2015 before the country voted to make same-sex marriage legal.

He said: “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’s just part of who I am, it doesn’t define me, it is part of my character I suppose.”

‘Clearly a Tory’

A trained medical doctor, Mr Varadkar served as minister for health from 2014 until 2016, as well as minister for transport, tourism and sport from 2011 to 2014.

A win would highlight Ireland’s growing liberalism on social matters, but the politician is to the right of centre personally. Fine Gael is in the Christian democrat tradition, supported by wealthy farmers, businesspeople and professionals.

A 2010 Irish Times profile of the rising star said he “rejects the label of right-wing” but claimed he “would clearly be Tory” if he lived in Britain.

In 2008, he ran into trouble after arguing for the deportation of unemployed immigrants.

“Would there be a case at this stage for giving an offer to foreign nationals the opportunity to receive, say, three or four or six months of benefits, if they then agreed to repatriate to their country of origin and then forego benefits beyond that?” he asked.

Straight talker

His straight-talking, often confrontational manner have got him in trouble with his own party – not least when he was arguing for more funding as minister for health – but he is nonetheless broadly well thought of, topping a poll for next Fine Gael leader with 35 per cent.

Commentators sympathetically refer to his penchant to speak rather than holding his peace as “bluntless”.

His own website lists “quality of opportunity, enterprise and reward, fiscal prudence, compassion and fairness” as the central pillars of his political philosophy.

Mr Varadkar, born in the suburbs of Dublin, has been battling to shed the image of the “cappuccino” politician and make overtures to the rural base he would require to secure the leadership and survive any coming elections.

The challengers

Simon Coveney, a skillful and more subtle politician from Ireland’s second city of Cork, and Simon Harris, the 30-year-old who took over as health minister from Mr Varadkar, are seen as his main challengers. People in the party who object to Mr Varadkar’s long-game tilt at the leadership – involving a lot of self-promotion – have coalesced around rivals, according to reports.

Fine Gael is currently supported in its minority government by its arch-rival Fianna Fáil, with a deal in place to back three budgets and keep the Taoiseach in place by supporting him in confidence votes.

However, if the party decides to pull the plug less than a year after the 2016 vote, a fresh election could be called which could see Fianna Fáil reclaim its traditional position as the country’s biggest party.