Government: Simon Harris is to become Ireland’s youngest head of government

Ireland is to have the youngest prime minister in its history. The previous higher education minister, Simon Harris, is to be appointed prime minister today. The 37-year-old would succeed the previous Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, who surprisingly announced his resignation in mid-March. Harris is considered the favorite. When he takes office, he would be a year younger than Varadkar was back then.

Two weeks ago, Harris was the only candidate to take over the post of party leader of the liberal-conservative ruling party Fine Gael. The parliament in Dublin should now elect him as head of government. The coalition partners – the liberal-conservative Fianna Fáil party and the Greens – support his election as “Taoiseach”, as the office is officially called in Irish.

How Harris uses social media

Harris – born in October 1986 – has already held several cabinet positions, for example, was his country’s health minister at the beginning of the pandemic and is currently minister for universities, science and research. According to his own statements, he was influenced by his brother’s autism diagnosis. That’s when he started campaigning for better information and support.

Harris also uses platforms such as Instagram and Tiktok for his politics. He regularly publishes videos there, which is why the “Politico” portal and the British newspaper “Guardian” have already referred to him as the “Tiktok Prime Minister”. In the clips he promotes political decisions, sometimes makes tea or encourages students before their exams.

The Irish Times newspaper wrote that a colleague once described Harris as cute, cunning and smart: “You’re satisfied that he’s listened to you, even if he doesn’t deliver afterwards. And he knows everything that’s happening in your constituency .” According to the newspaper, Harris is also expected to succeed in winning more young people to his party.

Opposition calls for new elections

The left-wing opposition party Sinn Fein accuses Harris of a poor record as health minister and is calling for new elections. Harris will be the third prime minister within a legislative period, criticized MP Pearse Doherty. Varadkar succeeded Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin at the end of 2022 – the coalition partners had agreed on this allocation of offices, also in order to keep Sinn Fein out of the government. “It’s time for a general election,” Doherty said. Ireland, with its 5.1 million inhabitants, must elect a new parliament by spring 2025 at the latest.

The previous head of government, Varadkar, announced his resignation in mid-March, surprising both his own party and his coalition partners. The 45-year-old referred to personal and political reasons, but did not give any details.

According to commentators, the homosexual Varadkar further opened up the strict Catholic society. However, his government recently suffered defeats in two referendums: it wanted to modernize two places in the constitution on the concept of family and the role of women in the household, but did not get a majority for it. Critics blamed the government’s chaotic approach for this. Varadkar was also accused of mistakes in social and housing policy.

How Harris feels about reunification with Northern Ireland

Harris has already announced that he will focus on housing policy, law and order enforcement and supporting small businesses. In terms of foreign policy, it will be interesting to see how Ireland continues to position itself on the Gaza war. Varadkar had criticized Israel’s behavior early on.

Harris has already been asked how he feels about reunification with Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland is a part of the British United Kingdom. Thousands of people were killed in a long civil war between opponents and supporters of political union.

The TV channel Sky News asked Harris whether he shared his predecessor’s opinion that he would see a united Ireland in his lifetime. It is a legitimate political goal to want to see a united Ireland, but not one of his priorities at the moment, said Harris. Brexit was a challenging time. While Great Britain has left the European Union, Ireland remains an EU member – which is why special rules are necessary for the border with Northern Ireland.