Simon Harris confirmed leader of Ireland’s Fine Gael party, set to be country’s youngest premier

It follows the shock announcement by Leo Varadkar that he would be stepping down as Fine Gael leader and would resign as taoiseach as soon as his successor was selected.

Ireland’s Leo Varadkar unexpectedly quits as PM

Harris announced his candidature on Thursday night following a series of endorsements from within the Fine Gael parliamentary party and after a number of senior colleagues said they did not intend to stand for the leadership.

He has previously said he remains fully committed to the programme for government agreed with coalition partners Fianna Fail and the Green Party.

Harris has stopped short of ruling out a general election in Ireland this year but insisted such a poll was not his priority.

Outgoing Fine Gael leader and Taoiseach Varadkar surprised many within the political establishment by announcing his resignation on Wednesday.

He said he was resigning for “personal and political reasons” and was “not the best person for the job any more”.

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