Dublin [Ireland], March 25: The ruling Fine Gael party in Ireland has elected Mr. Simon Harris as its new leader, paving the way for the politician to become Ireland's youngest prime minister after Mr. Leo Varadkar suddenly resigned recently.
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar suddenly announced his resignation on March 20 for "personal and political" reasons. In 2017, he became Ireland's youngest prime minister when elected at the age of 38.
Now, Mr. Varadkar's record will likely be replaced by Mr. Simon Harris, who will turn 38 years old next October. According to CNN, Mr. Harris was chosen by the ruling Fine Gael party to be the new party leader at the March 24 conference in West Meath County.
"It is truly the honor of my life to be officially here with you to accept the leadership of this great party," Mr. Harris said.
The politician thanked his supporters for their trust and pledged to repay that trust by doing his best with "blood, sweat and tears".
Mr. Harris also thanked Mr. Varadkar for his "outstanding leadership" during important times in the country's history such as the time when Britain withdrew from the European Union (also known as Brexit) or the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to al-Jazeera, the Irish parliament is expected to vote to elect Mr. Harris as leader at its next session on April 9.
Mr. Harris has served as minister of health, minister of justice, and minister of higher education, research, innovation and science.
On the priorities going forward, Mr Harris said that Fine Gael would support law and order. The politician vowed to pursue a more planned and sustainable immigration policy. On foreign affairs, he called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and condemned Russia's military campaign in Ukraine .
If he becomes prime minister, he will have more than a year to rally support for a coalition of Fine Gael and other parties ahead of parliamentary elections in 2025. Surveys show the party Left-wing Sinn Fein is leading Fine Gael by a few percentage points.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
