Leo Varadkar resigns as Taoiseach

riddles

Harris a limp wristed biscuit the type you think should survive the most moderate of tea dunking but no utterly disintegrates.

BlueSkyDreams

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121920908#Comment_121920908

It makes a lot of sense if you are the govt.

The govt will run its term and give the new leader chance to bounce in the polls and at the same time they will hope to preside over a futher slides in the polls for SF.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121921005#Comment_121921005

So what do we do then? Let FFG brainwash us into believing that it's not a realistic goal to buy a house anymore? Forget about that minions. Housing is only for the social welfare classes or the super rich and political classes.

Nah. There has to be social contract whereby if you work, earn an honest living and contribute to society you will at some point in the near future be able to afford some sort of owner occupied accommodation. That's gone though because of successive failures by FFG government. 2K rents per month are now the norm. Buying a home and paying far less in a mortgage has literally been killed in order to promote and sustain profiteering.

But yet some want us to keep voting for this crowd because SF are big bad and scary. I'm not saying it's you. And I agree with your comments about oz. But we need to do better than what we currently are and Simon Harris won't change a thing.

I know 3 people who have put log cabins in their back garden for the 30 year old + kids to move into. The penny has dropped that they will never own a house.

Flinty997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121920840#Comment_121920840

Both of those things can be true at the same time. No one knows what's in Leo's head.

BlueSkyDreams

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121920970#Comment_121920970

Who are the ones with talent?

BlueSkyDreams

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121920915#Comment_121920915

What different outcome do you expect to see from a GE, when the maths strongly imply the return of a FFG govt?

murpho999

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121920641#Comment_121920641

Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Lady Gaga , Michael Dell, Richard Branson, Tom Hanks, Ralph Lauren, Steven Spielberg to name but a few, all dropped out of college and regretted it as it really held them back and they went to achieve nothing in their careers.

Flinty997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121920837#Comment_121920837

In fairness most people are in a job to get paid I think he's well able to make more money doing something else.

I don't think he personally lacks support in an election scenario.

My main criticism is that as a politician with a lot of support behind him, he never really did anything with it.

Furze99

Has Harris done anything of note to date in terms of politics? I can't honestly think of it if he has, just one of those stereotyped FG lads on the circuit. Main impression of him being interviewed is that he blathers on and the interviewer has difficulty getting a word in edgeways.

Furze99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121921043#Comment_121921043

So what Harris done of note to date? Other than talk himself up.

Flinty997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121921026#Comment_121921026

SF will a large vote because so many want change. But the concern is what will they do because thus far they seem clueless.

Which is why FFG are holding on, the predictable less risk vote. Downside being they'll change nothing.

The ball is really in SF court to put some credible options on the table. That seem unwilling or unable to do so.

walshb

No matter what, it's very likely that the next government will need a combination of large parties (FF/FG/SF) in it....so whatever "change" people want or expect is probably not going to happen. In today's toxic world of social media, where everyone is now an expert on how to run society, no government will ever be near good enough!!!

Flinty997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121921043#Comment_121921043

I wonder what % of drop outs are these. 0.001%? I'm not sure Outliers are a proof of anything.

StrawbsM

Will this scupper Helen’s hate speech plans?

jmayo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121918983#Comment_121918983

Ahh FFS.

Looking for racism in every comment and context is one thing that is now seriously wrong with Western world and in particular the Anglophile sphere of it.

If you knew anything you might have worked out that remark kinds mirrors a famous quote by a famous RTE GAA commentator when referring to a Cork hurler of Fijian and Tyrone descent.

Beechwoodspark

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121921075#Comment_121921075

He’s like that in real life in my experience.

Talks ten to the dozen but it’s all waffle.

murpho999

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121921092#Comment_121921092

It's still not a metric to judge someone and Harris , like him or hate him, as gone on to have a very successful political career which shows he's an achiever despite people saying he's done nothing.

ooter

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121921119#Comment_121921119

Reminds me of the health minister.

Richard Hillman

Harris' rise to becoming Taoiseach is genuinely scary.

Dropped out of college, assuming because he was socially inadequate but was in the Fine Gael youth (Maybe his parents were party members?). His parents tell him he needs to get a job and they blag a internship with Frances Fitzgerald.

Fianna Fail is starting to fall apart at this stage. Fine Gael were at an all time low at the time and they desperately needed candidates. They throw Harris up for councillor 1 year after dropping out of college and joining Fitzgerald.

Fianna Fail absolutely collapse. Fine Gael need candidates and throw up all of their councillors. Harris gets elected on the back of the Fianna Fail economic collapse.

Gets into government. Keeps his head down for a few years. Somehow gets the minister for health gig, as they don't have experienced TDs. Gets the gig but the government falls years later due to a pending lack of confidence vote on him.

Gets moved over to higher education, even though he never completed college. Parrots everything the leadership tell him to say. Becomes Taoiseach.

It has to be the easiest path to become a country leader of a reasonably sized country in history. Harris just got on a role of being in the right place and the right time.

jmayo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121921043#Comment_121921043

Is that a college drop out list or an ar**holes list ?

Sorry I couldn't resist but it reads like a list of some of the worlds greatest a***holes.

BTW for every Jobs, Gates, Zuckerberg, Dell, Branson there are millions upon millions of failures.

Something else that isn't often mentioned when these guys are referenced is that most if not all came from kinda privileged backgrounds which already gave them a head start on the ordinary Joe soap.

And there is huge degree of luck often involved in these people's success.

hotmail.com

A bit odd that Simon Harris will be the next Taoiseach.

He's very amateur.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121920961#Comment_121920961

The cute whore attitude to beaurocracy and law would belie that notion. We elect representatives who we think will look after our little corner of the country - that is where the rot starts at the parish pump.

ToweringPerformance

Harris will just be the fall guy for the coming election annihilation of FG. Looks like he's stupid enough to take it. Paschal and Coveney are too cute and see it coming a mile off.

mohawk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121920741#Comment_121920741

I have definitely noticed recently an increase in criticism of Leo where they referred to him as the gay, Indian on social media. It comes across as homophobia and racism. They word it in such a way that they think they can deny it, but there is no need at all to ever bring a person’s sexuality or heritage into the conversation. Give out about their actions and the policies

Politicians should never ever be above criticism but we don’t need to get personal about it. We want our politicians to do the best for our country. You would be crazy to go for election now. Even at local level councillors are getting verbally attacked.

Personally I thought Leo was a very promising politician and FG took on a huge mess after FF has the IMF in to us. The last two years I thought he wasn’t at his best. Maybe three coalition partners is too many as everyone wants their own agenda and you can’t openly criticise your partner like you can the opposition.

Things like housing are a common problem in rest of developed world so I don’t think there is a quick fix but mistakes were made in the past that made our problems worse.

twin_beacon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121920984#Comment_121920984

The count anyone gets elected on is totally meaningless. Simon Harris got elected on the 15th count, but that doesn't tell you that he got the second highest amount of first preference votes, and that FG ran two other candidates. John Brady, the SF candidate topped the poll, and got elected with 6k votes over the quota, he was also the only SF candidate. So, by looking at those figures you would think SF were the most popular party in that constituency, but there actually were not, as FG between their three candidates ended up with around 1200 more first preference votes.

When a party runs multiple candidates in a constituency, its all about vote management and transfers. The goal is to get as many of the candidates elected, regardless of what count they get elected.

walshb

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121921144#Comment_121921144

Still pales in comparison to what the world’s most powerful democracy installed in 2016, I guess

hotmail.com

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121921200#Comment_121921200

Zzzz

Oscar_Madison

If you can access this article behind the paywall it’s not a bad analysis of how Leo came to this decision - at least from a political point of view - but it does also highlight the personal toll the office of Taoiseach brings - essentially Leo reached the high office- nowhere else to go and he was getting frustrated around what he deemed was unfair reporting of the press amongst other challenges such as by-elections and the failed referendum - might keep the conspiracy theorists quiet for a while

https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/cracks-started-to-show-for-leo-varadkar-on-us-visit-but-could-a-place-on-the-world-stage-now-beckon/a1806661534.html

Loafing Oaf

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121921102#Comment_121921102

Not seeing why itv should. Our taoiseach-in-waiting is a strong supporter

https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-41132413.html

hotmail.com

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121921144#Comment_121921144

It could be a car crash.