Leo Varadkar to step down as Irish prime minister, party leader

London -- The prime minister of the Republic of Ireland Leo Varadkar announced Wednesday that he will resign as party leader immediately and as Taoiseach as soon as his Fine Gael successor is selected.

"One part of leadership is knowing when the time has come to pass on the baton to somebody else, and then having the courage to do it," Varadkar said in a statement.

"That time is now. So I am resigning as president and leader of Fine Gael effective today and will resign as Taoiseach as soon as my successor is able to take up that office," he said, adding that his reasons for stepping down are "both personal and political."

Varadkar said the current government "could be re-elected" but he did not feel he was the "best person for the job anymore".

Varadkar, 45, has led the Fine Gael party since 2017 and served as Taoiseach twice. He currently leads the coalition government in Dublin along with Fianna Fail and the Green Party.

In the 2020 Irish general election, Varadkar's party ended in the third place in terms of number of seats in Dail Eireann, the lower house of the country's parliament.

His resignation announcement followed the Irish government's defeat in twin referendums earlier this month.

As part of the coalition deal struck between the parties, Varadkar and Micheal Martin of Fianna Fail would hold the position of Taoiseach for two years each.

In 2020, Martin was appointed Taoiseach with Varadkar serving as his Tanaiste (deputy prime minister), before the two swapped roles in 2022.

Tanaiste Micheal Martin said he was "very surprised" at Varadkar's resignation.

"I want to take the opportunity to thank him sincerely. We got on very well. We had a strong personal relationship... which I think was important in terms of the continuity and stability of the government," Martin said. ■