CNN —Prime Minister Leo Varadkar sent shockwaves through Ireland when he candidly announced last week that he was “no longer the best person” to lead his country. Irish Times political correspondent Jennifer Bray was given less than an hour’s notice of the surprise statement from the taoiseach on Wednesday. His successor, largely tipped to be Higher Education Minister Simon Harris, will need to lead the center-right political party, Fine Gael, against a fired-up opposition. The 37-year-old who rose to prominence during his spell as health minister during the pandemic is considered by many to be a “mirror image” to Varadkar, Murphy said. Mary Lou McDonald, president of opposition party Sinn Fein, which has been making steady gains since 2020.

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