Ireland's new face
Dear Friends of Democracy,
Today, we stop in Ireland where this young guy...
... has become the new prime minister.
His name is Simon Harris. He is 37 years old, and the youngest prime minister Ireland has ever had.
Details.
Harris is the son of a taxi driver and a teaching assistant for children with special education needs. After dropping out of university in 2008 (he had studied journalism and French), he entered politics by taking a job as a parliamentary assistant to an Irish senator.
How did he become prime minister?
His predecessor, Leo Varadkar, resigned surprisingly last month because of permanently low poll numbers of his centre-right party, Fine Gael. Harris took the chance.
Who supports Harris?
The new prime minister leads a majority coalition government of conservative and Christian democratic Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party. At the latest election in 2020, Harris' Fine Gael had fewer votes (20.9 per cent) than Fianna Fáil (22.2). Subsequently, a deal was established: The leader of Fianna Fáil, Micheál Martin, became the new head of government. Martin led the country until 17 December 2022, when he changed posts with Leo Varadkar.
So, Simon Harris is already the third Prime Minister of the legislative period?
Exactly. Ireland will hold the next general election by the end of March 2025. Therefore, Harris has only a little time to establish himself as a reliable and successful leader. He also faces huge competition, namely the opposition party Sinn Féin, with its leader Mary Lou McDonald. Sinn Féin, which campaigns for a united Ireland, was first in votes at the last election. Currently, the party leads the poll with 26 per cent.
See you in Europe,
Johannes