Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has resigned as leader of the party with immediate effect and will step down once Fine Gael's successor has been selected.
Announcing his resignation, Mr Varadkar said leading the country had been “the most fulfilling time of my life”.
He said he was stepping down for “personal and political” reasons and that he was “no longer the best person for this job.”
He became Ireland's youngest prime minister when he became Fine Gael leader in 2017 at the age of 38.
He currently leads a coalition government in Dublin with Fianna Fáil and the Green Party.
Speaking on the steps of Government House in Dublin on Wednesday, Mr Varadkar said he had “taken Ireland from unemployment to full employment, from deficit to surplus, from austerity to prosperity”.
Mr Varadkar added: “I'm proud to have made our country a more equal and more modern place when it comes to children's rights, the LGBT community, women's equality and physical independence.”
As prime minister, Mr Varadkar championed a referendum to change Ireland's constitution to legalize same-sex marriage and abortion.
Mr Varadkar also highlighted increases in government spending on arts and culture, international development and public infrastructure, as well as efforts to improve childcare affordability.
He also acknowledged that “there are areas where we haven't been very successful,” but added, “Please forgive me for leaving it to others to point it out on days like this.”
Why did Leo Varadkar resign?
Mr Varadkar said the reasons for his resignation were “personal and political”.
He said he feels the current administration “has a chance of being re-elected,” but that he feels he is “no longer the best person for the job.”
When is Ireland's next general election?
Irish government parties said they did not expect Wednesday's announcement to trigger a general election.
In the 2020 election, Mr Varadkar led his party to third place in the Dáil Eireann, the country's lower house of parliament.
As part of a coalition agreement between the two parties, Mr Varadkar and Michael Martin have each agreed to serve as party leader for two years.
After Mr Varadkar's resignation was announced, Mr Martin said he was “surprised” by the decision.
“I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank him. We got along very well,” Martin added.
Mr Martin said he remained committed to serving out the Coalition's term.
Eamonn Ryan, leader of the Green Party, the smallest of the three coalition partners, said Mr Varadkar was “a dynamic and dedicated leader of our country who was always supportive of his colleagues in government”.
Mr Ryan said the party was looking forward to the Fine Gael leadership election and the selection of a new leader.
In the meantime, the government will continue to carry out its mandate, he said.
“I would like to wish Leo the best of luck as he prepares to leave the Taoiseach's office,” he added.
“Get off the road”
Opposition Leader Mary Lou McDonald, President of Sinn Féin (Irish House of Commons), spoke in the Dail and called for a general election.
She said it was “unthinkable” that the next provincial leader would be chosen by a “conference” of Fine Gael politicians.
“This is a time for new leadership. Not just a Taoist change, but a change of government and a change of direction,” she said.
Ms McDonald claimed that when Fine Gael came to power in 2011, Ireland's home ownership rate was among the highest in Europe, but has since fallen to one of the worst.
“This government is exhausted and has no way to go. So instead of dragging our feet in a caring role, let's go to the people,” she said.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has prayed for Leo Varadkar's soul following his resignation.
A spokesperson said the Prime Minister would “work closely with the Prime Minister and his successor”.
The spokesperson added: “Ireland is an important partner for the UK.”
Northern Ireland's First Minister Michelle O'Neill also said that “election time has come” in the Republic of Ireland.
The Sinn Féin vice president said: “Now is not the time to 'rearrange the deckchairs'.”
She described Fine Gael's time in government as “13 years of failure”.
Deputy Prime Minister Emma Little-Pengery said: “Leo Varadkar and trade unionism rarely, if ever, saw eye to eye.”
But Democratic Unionist Party MLAs wished him “the best of luck.”
DUP leader Sir Geoffrey Donaldson said he and Mr Varadkar were “very often at different ends of the political spectrum”.
“We differed on the approach to the heritage of the Republic of Ireland and we had very different views on the approach and attitude of the Republic of Ireland. [Northern Ireland] The Protocol and the Constitutional Future of Northern Ireland.”
“When we had disagreements, we handled them respectfully.”
Sir Jeffrey added that there were other areas where they cooperated on issues of mutual interest “for both countries”.
Irish President Michael D. Higgins was informed of the prime minister's intention to resign shortly before Wednesday's press conference, and the two men met shortly afterward.
A presidential spokesperson said, “The president appreciated the contributions of Taoists and others throughout this process.''
Who will be the next leader?
Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Employment Simon CoveneyThe 51-year-old Fine Gael deputy leader ruled himself out.
He told RTÉ he had decided “a long time ago” not to stand in the next leadership contest after losing to Mr Varadkar in 2017.
An emergency meeting of the Fine Gael National Executive will be held on Wednesday night to begin the process of selecting a new leader.
Coveney said the process will take 18 or 19 days.
He added that there was “a good chance” there would be multiple candidates.
So far, four names have been mentioned.
Minister of Advancement and Higher Education Simon Harris37 is an early favorite for many bookmakers.
He rose to prominence in 2018 as Minister of Health when the Republic of Ireland passed a constitutional amendment to legalize abortion, and later served as Minister of Justice.
Helen McEntee He became a TD at the age of 26, following in the footsteps of his father, who committed suicide.
In 2017 she took on the high-profile role of Minister for European Affairs and was promoted to Minister of Justice in June 2020.
She faced calls from opposition parties to resign after mass unrest broke out in Dublin in November 2023.
pascal donohoe He is Minister of Public Expenditure and previously served as Minister of Finance from 2017 to 2022, arguably the second most important cabinet post.
The Dublin Central representative is also the chair of the Eurogroup, which brings together finance ministers from the euro area for informal meetings.
Minister of Social Security Heather Humphreys He represents the constituency of Cavan Monaghan, which borders Northern Ireland.
In addition to holding key cabinet posts, she was in charge of the Justice Department for two terms while Ms McEntee was on maternity leave.
If she becomes Taoiseach, she would be the first Protestant to hold the post.
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