The leader of left-wing government in Ireland is resigning after suffering a resounding defeat in a double referendum earlier this month. In a shocking announcement on Wednesday morning, Taoiseach (Ireland’s word for prime minister) Leo Varadkar shared that he would be stepping down as the leader of the Fine Gael party, effective immediately, and as taoiseach, as soon as his party could select a replacement.
At a private Fine Gael meeting shortly before his public announcement, Varadkar reportedly quipped, “I couldn’t find anyone to stab me in the back, so I fell on my sword instead.” His resignation follows the overwhelming defeat of two constitutional amendments proposed by Varadkar, redefining “family” in the Irish constitution and removing references to motherhood. After the Irish population rejected the proposals via referendum, he admitted, “Clearly we got it wrong. While the old adage is that success has many fathers and failure is an orphan, I think when you lose by this kind of margin, there are a lot of people who got this wrong and I am certainly one of them.” (READ MORE: Haiti: A Tourist’s Nightmare)
The referenda results were widely seen as a “rebuke” of Varadkar’s government and an “embarrassment” to Varadkar personally and prompted calls for some — such as left-wing and openly gay Minister for Children Roderic O’Gorman, a major proponent of the constitutional amendments — to resign.
“It’s a great day for Ireland as Leo Varadkar, a man who has done so much damage to Ireland, resigns,” said Irish Freedom Party founder Hermann Kelly in comments to The American Spectator. “The referenda result of two weeks ago should be the first signal that rampant globalism in Ireland is being challenged for the first time in decades. Hopefully, he will be one of the first of many losses and resignations from Hibernophobic political ranks.”
Leftism Run Rampant in Ireland
During his tenure in government, Varadkar has overseen leftism run rampant across the Emerald Isle. In 2015, Varadkar, then the Minister for Health, was one of the staunchest supporters of legalizing same-sex marriage, saying that a No vote would be a “big step backwards” for the country. During the campaign, Varadkar himself came out as gay. Once the referendum succeeded, Varadkar said that legalizing same-sex marriage “makes us a beacon of equality and liberty to the rest of the world, so it’s a very proud day for the Irish people.” (READ MORE: India’s Ontological Question: Regional or Global)
Starting in 2014, Varadkar began arguing for the decriminalization of abortion, despite his prior claims that even allowing abortion in rare cases would lead to “abortion on demand.” In 2018, Varadkar, as taoiseach, led a campaign to decriminalize abortion, allowing unrestricted abortion up to the first 12 weeks of pregnancy and up to six months of pregnancy under certain circumstances.
Varadkar has also supervised a program of practically unmitigated immigration overwhelming Ireland, primarily via “refugee” avenues. Between April 2021 and April 2023, nearly 150,000 immigrants entered the Emerald Isle, the highest rate in two decades. To accommodate “refugees” — mostly military-aged men — the government has taken to commandeering hotels, houses, and schools and converting them into “asylum centers,” sparking protests and riots in response. In an unprecedented and telling move, Ireland’s political elites asked if Ireland has taken in too many refugees: Two-thirds of Irish voters said “yes.” Yet Varadkar, true to globalist form, has insisted that immigration is a “good thing.” After various county councils voted to cease cooperation with the national government over its immigration policies, Varadkar finally conceded to pay European Union fines rather than continue accepting “refugees.” (RELATED: Ireland Votes to Save the Family)
As in America, immigration has become the top issue for Irish voters ahead of the next scheduled general election. In the polls, support for mainstream parties (including Varadkar’s Fine Gael) has dropped sharply, while support for “other” parties, such as the Irish Freedom Party, has risen. Kelly told The American Spectator, “The Irish Freedom Party will continue to campaign to bring about radical and necessary political change. There are local and European Elections in June this year, so we certainly expect patriotic Irish people to support us at the ballot box.”
