©Reuters. Ireland’s Minister for Higher Education, Simon Harris, speaks after being announced as the new leader of Fine Gael at the party’s leadership election convention, held in Athlone, Ireland, March 24, 2024. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
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By Graham Fahy and Padraic Halpin
ATHLONE, Ireland (Reuters) -Simon Harris became Irish prime minister on Sunday, pledging to help small businesses, focus on law and order and tackle immigration after his unopposed election to succeed Leo Varadkar as leader of the ruling party Fine Gael.
Harris, a 37-year-old minister best known for helping direct the country’s initial response to COVID-19, will be voted Ireland’s youngest ever prime minister when parliament meets on April 9 thanks to support from coalition partners .
He will have no more than a year to save the coalition from defeat in the parliamentary elections. Polls over the past three years have pointed to Sinn Fein, a left-wing party that supports unification with British-run Northern Ireland, as the favorite to lead the next government.
“This is the time to reset Fine Gael,” Harris told hundreds of members at a packed party in the Midlands town of Athlone.
“Under my leadership, Fine Gael stands for supporting business, particularly small businesses… Fine Gael stands for supporting the family farm… Fine Gael stands for law and order, on the side of An Garda Siochána (police), where our streets are safe and crime can never go unchecked.”
After months of speculation that Varadkar would opt for an early election later this year, Harris told reporters she intended to remain in office until March 2025.
Varadkar announced his departure in shock on Wednesday, taking even his closest political allies by surprise, saying Fine Gael would have a better chance of being re-elected under another leader.
Harris has spoken in recent days about how he got involved in politics as an “opinionated, moody teenager” bothered by the lack of educational support for his autistic brother. He has tried to portray himself as an “accidental politician”, even though he has spent much of his adult life in parliament.
He is one of the most visible Irish government ministers and a strong media performer. His intense presence on social media led one opponent in parliament to dub Harris the “TikTok taoiseach” (Irish prime minister).
“TOO TOO LEFT FOR TOO LONG”
While the economy has grown strongly under Varadkar, successive governments, of which Harris has been part, have struggled to deal with a decades-long housing crisis and, more recently, the pressure of record numbers of asylum seekers and refugees.
Harris said Ireland must move to a “more planned and sustainable” migration model and a system that is “fair and firm”.
He is also under pressure from members to better define Fine Gael’s offer to voters.
“I think perhaps he needs to focus more on the core values of Fine Gael,” party member Mary McDonagh said, urging Harris to help struggling rural hospitality businesses and “disaffected” farmers.
Inheriting a three-party coalition government working to an agreed policy agenda will give Harris little room for major new policy initiatives.
Two further polls on Sunday confirmed the recent trend of Sinn Fein support falling from highs of 12-18 months ago, although they once again generally showed smaller parties and independent candidates as beneficiaries compared to government parties .
A Business Post/Red C poll conducted before Varadkar’s exit put Sinn Fein’s lead over a stalled Fine Gael at 6 percentage points, while an Irish Independent/Ireland Thinks poll after his resignation showed a lead of 5 points after a small increase for Fine Gael.
Two of Fine Gael’s 33 MPs called on Harris to scrap proposed hate crime laws and lower the opening hours of bars and nightclubs in a sign she is returning to the centre-right.
“We have been too left-wing for too long,” veteran MP and former minister Michael Ring told national broadcaster RTE.
“If it doesn’t take this opportunity (to make changes), Fine Gael and Simon Harris will pay a big price in the coming months.”