Paul Hosford: No longer the man for the job, Leo Varadkar’s life is now changed immeasurably

The poster was referring instead to the fact that they too had “come home from holidays and considered quitting my job”, pointing to the fact that Mr Varadkar had just returned from Washington DC before dropping his bombshell.

The Taoiseach said later he had come to a final decision around his future while in the American capital.

Asked when he had made his decision, he said: “Really only definitively at the weekend. But obviously, I’d been weighing it up, I suppose, since Christmas, New Year, but definitively only at the weekend.”

A trip away can be like that.

However, if Mr Varadkar had been mulling this decision since Christmas, he may have looked at this week as perfect timing.

This #EUCO was the last of our dear friend @LeoVaradkar. Dear Leo, thank you for your determination, dedication and personal contribution to building a better and more equal and diverse Europe.

Buíochas leat as do chuid oibre, agus ádh mór! pic.twitter.com/JZvgMWHD5M

— Charles Michel (@CharlesMichel) March 21, 2024

Sure, in the hours after he delivered his speech at Government Buildings, he had to take leaders’ questions, Taoiseach’s questions, and make a statement on the European Council meeting in Brussels, but that was Mr Varadkar’s last Dáil contribution as Taoiseach until he formally tells the chamber he is resigning.

The following morning, he was on a flight to Brussels for his final European Council meeting. That body’s president, Charles Michel, tweeted a video paying tribute to Mr Varadkar’s “determination, dedication, and personal contribution to building a better and more equal and diverse Europe”, but the video itself oddly only contained soundbites of the Taoiseach speaking about Ukraine and European
enlargement and nothing of Ireland’s stance on Gaza.

Two days in Brussels, even with the agenda of the European Council and two media opportunities, will lead the Taoiseach into a Dáil recess after which he will no longer be leader of Fine Gael and, within minutes of the resumption of proceedings, he will no longer be Taoiseach.

This is no long, drawn-out process and in Brussels he even indicated that he would happily see his exit expedited if his soon-to-be replacement Simon Harris wishes. There is no victory lap here, and that is telling.

Mr Varadkar has never been afraid to lean into the spotlight, but has for some time now seemed less sure of himself, more burdened by either the weight of the office or the effect it was having on his life outside.

Next week, it is not clear whether Mr Varadkar will undertake any public events or do any media, but one senses that he will not be too troubled about that. His speech on Wednesday, and the timing of his departure, showed that, for one reason or another — or a hundred others — he has simply had his fill of the office of Taoiseach. 

He insisted once more on Friday that there was no “real reason” aside from what he said in his speech — he did not feel like he was the man for the job anymore.

He said his partner, Matt Barrett, was “delighted” as “this life was never really for him”. The timing, it seems, was simply a bonus.

Having enjoyed one last trip to the Oval Office, Mr Varadkar has been afforded a low-key exit from office and will enter the party’s ard fheis in early April as the Taoiseach, but not the party leader, a strange place to be.

Within days of that event, he will be a backbencher, simply a TD for Dublin West, for the first time since 2011. There will be throngs of supporters looking to shake his hand at the Fine Gael event, but his move to the Government backbenches will be an adjustment and will probably be a lonelier place.

There, he will not have the levels of support or power which he has had but, given the manner of his departure, it seems like that will suit him just fine.

I, too, have come home from holidays and considered quitting my job. Ths is the most relatable Leo Varadkar has ever been.

— Erin (@ErinNiBhroin) March 20, 2024