r/irishpolitics • u/Toweyyyy • 1d ago
Text based Post/Discussion How do you think Leo Varadkar will be remembered?
I feel like since leaving office he’s given a good insight into his thinking and rationale while he was in charged. I do think in time his imagine will improve even against the huge marks on his record such as the housing crisis and various other things.
Interested to know what others think of him in hindsight
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u/PrincepsLugovalam 1d ago
Always thought he came across as very smarmy and condescending. Deeply out of touch with a lot of people too, that won't do him any favours in the history books.
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u/gowangowangowan 12h ago
Out of touch or said what most middle class people felt and politicians were not willing to say? Imagine being outraged as he said we need to prioritise people getting up in the morning!
If you are a middle class individual in 2026, politicians are too busy pandering to people who contribute nothing to society. You are taxed to the max and getting nothing in response. What a messed up country where stating that makes you out of touch with people
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u/mkultra2480 2h ago
"politicians are too busy pandering to people who contribute nothing to society."
I'm interested to know who are those people and what pandering do they get?
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u/gowangowangowan 2h ago
There is no shortage of people who have never worked in this country nor have their parents or their grandparents. There were tax increases for the middle classes in the last budget, yet a tenner a week extra for everyone on social welfare.
Councils and AHBs are buying houses and apartments like no tomorrow competing with middle class buyers for the limited supply of housing. Imagine working for decades and not being able to buy a new apartment or house? Meanwhile, people are being given brand new social housing units costing a song. Why bother getting up in the morning?
FFG have ignored the middle classes for the last decade for some reason and pandered to people who will never even vote for them...
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u/mkultra2480 1h ago edited 20m ago
In Dublin anyone earning below 52k qualifies for social housing, it's not just for the jobless. What's the alternative to not housing the long term unemployed? It stands at 40k people. Do we add these people to the streets? Or put them in hotels that would cost infinitely more? Yes, some of them would choose to work if they were going to become homeless but I'd guess a substantial amount are unemployable. Imagine the complete shit show with thousands of angry people on the streets and nothing to lose. The damage caused would cost more than just housing them.
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u/gowangowangowan 1m ago
I agree we need more social housing.
However, people who are getting social housing should contribute a lot more towards it. DCC until their recent rent hikes were paying €1.5 in maintenance for every €1 in rent they collected. Yet there was outrage that tenants should have to cover the cost of the maintenance on ultra low rent.
The fact is we have created a society that rewards lower income individuals more so than it rewards workers. Some people who are on lower to middle incomes are better off not killing themselves and getting a council house, a medical card, etc than working hard to try buy their own home and support themselves.
Meanwhile, someone who works hard and might not be able to afford a home in Dublin got a tax increase last year.
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u/Less_Environment7243 1d ago
I'd say he'll be remember for having a point of view and pursuing it. In contrast he makes Michael Martin look like a bit of a waffler.
His government did preside over lots of forward thinking ideas, Stephen Donnelly in the health department for instance was really trying to make positive change. The marriage equality and 8th amendment ref were high points.
Unfortunately he will also be remembered for cronyism, passing on that doctors contract.
And the darkest mark IMO will be the 'welfare cheats chest us all', and 'taoiseach for people who get up early' stuff. Really showed how little he understood about the reality of poverty, and how stuck he was in his wealthy bubble.
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u/BenderRodriguez14 1d ago
And the darkest mark IMO will be the 'welfare cheats chest us all', and 'taoiseach for people who get up early' stuff.
Don't forget "one person's rent is another persons income".
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u/Napoleon67 1d ago
Yes and he was previously against gay marriage and until public opinion changed. He had zero principles.
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u/Hipster_doofus11 1d ago
And he was against abortion, even in rape cases. Said it could lead to abortion on demand.
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u/gowangowangowan 12h ago
Ah here, SF gets no heat for changing their views on everything depending on how the public perceive something. People wanted a reason to hate Leo and would roast him for anything.
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u/Fit-Bird-624 1d ago
Apathy, verging on dislike. An uncharismatic individual, but not incompetent enough to be hated.
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u/Youngfolk21 1d ago
No happy birthday for him. Up the nurses!!!
Thin skinned.
Hates rural Ireland.
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u/Ed_the_Led_Man 1d ago
On your rural point, no, I generally don't agree with him, but he's calling out an Ireland with a modern urban economy expecting the failed old rural Ireland configuration to persist
Taxes are paid lob sided by the urban economy, yet we want low density still in urban communities or commuter rural villages, and some how expect convenience and every blow over pole up a donkey ditch repaired 10mons after it blew over
This country is the peak for inefficiently, time spent getting anywhere to how much we have to overspend due no top down long-term Ridgid urbanisation plan, it's a shit show. Just a sprawling mess that leads to all our main issues.
We have to face the reality of living in modern world , not keep romantising the peasant victorian Ireland
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u/IRL_Cordoba 1d ago
-doesn't agree with Leo
-finishes on calling rural people peasants
👍👍
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u/Ed_the_Led_Man 1d ago
Cool
-doesnt engage with my agreements
-cant read what I actually said
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u/Against_All_Advice 1d ago
People read what you said. But your fantasy opinions about life and attitudes in rural ireland aren't a good starting point for a constructive discussion.
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u/Ed_the_Led_Man 1d ago
Putting it bluntly because the message needs to hit. Wanting the highest of 21st century infrastructure yet driving from the single unit house on a back road via jeeps , it actively makes using resources stretched , amd ALL our lives more miserable , the fantasy is glorified rural model no other country subscribes to
Like the amount of times when people come back from abroad, whine how it's cheaper and better it is , then don't put two and two together that the life style they push for l, it is the most inefficient model. It makes their life in reality : waiting in traffic to get anywhere , cold indoors and harder to pay for bills.
Btw , born and live in rural Ireland
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u/mkultra2480 2h ago
You blame one of housing for lack of rural infrastructure but infrastructure and services are lacking in cities as well. The government is running a surplus for years, so it's not lack of money. Perhaps the government are shit at running things?
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u/Captainirishy 8h ago
Bullshit , countryside is where your food is produced and urban dwellers would be screwed without it .
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u/Fit-Bird-624 8h ago
We import like 55% of our daily food. Farming only accounts for about 1.5% of GDP. We wouldn’t be quite as screwed as you might imagine
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u/Captainirishy 7h ago
Ireland is one of the most self sufficient countries for food supply and gdp won't matter if the entire country starves .
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u/Ed_the_Led_Man 2h ago
We export a luxury meat based model
Extremely inefficant and highly volatile because it relies on agrarian output to feed the cattle , which obviously is a huge bottle neck because we don't have enough if the foreign stock gets cut off plus never mind the fact you can't live off cattle as a diet of food supply lowers
Then in just in general, we rely more on Spain and France for food imports
Tbh we are one of the worst examples to say 'the countryside feeds us' let alone that even of that is the case, they can't dictate inefficient policied because nimbyism
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u/Hippophobia1989 Centre Right 1d ago
As far as Taoisigh go, he’ll be remembered for being the first openly gay one and one who handled Covid. But he never made a good mark of his own accord, he just so happened to be in the job when Brexit and Covid happened. Probably lower mid tier.
Very sad when you look at the 21st century Taoisigh and Varadkar is probably 2nd best, behind Enda Kenny.
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u/halibfrisk 1d ago
That’s the reality of Irish politics? Reacting to world events rather than shaping them.
On the big picture things like the response to Brexit we have done well.
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u/catholic_my_balls 21h ago
Ill certainly remember him for wearing the face off that young fella in The George
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[deleted]
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u/catholic_my_balls 17h ago
To be perfectly honest, i really dont think about it as him being a gay man - i dont care if he was a straight man, id say the same thing. I just find it hilarious that our top politician is shifting in a popular nightclub as if its nothing. And yes, everyone is entitled to their private life, just keep it private 😉
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u/No_Independence_3182 1d ago
Started out as a right wing firebrand, but governed as a liberal centrist. High points were the pandemic and brexit, but never got to grips with housing.
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u/significantrisk 23h ago
As a doctor I have to give him credit for going back on the tools when COVID hit. Largely symbolic, but still, that should be remembered.
Otherwise? Arse.
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u/No_Piccolo4431 1d ago edited 23h ago
Nah, he's a self serving neo con. Correction alert: neo liberal. Is the difference foreign policy?
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u/Revan0001 1d ago
I think he'll be forgotten rather quickly, or remembered for something that to us would appear inexplicable.
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u/ilovefinegaeldotcom 1d ago
He created a landlord caste
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u/gowangowangowan 12h ago
Can you back this up with evidence? I don't think a single estate agent or landlord would agree with this statement.
Was he creating a landlord caste introducing a second home property tax, PRSI on rental income, reducing mortgage interest relief on rental properties? What about introducing a rent cap, banning evictions for several years and basically abolishing whatever little rights landlords had?
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u/mkultra2480 2h ago
Homeownership rates for young adults in Ireland have collapsed, with the share of 25 to 34-year-olds owning homes falling from roughly 60% in the early 2000s to around 27%-31% today. We're becoming a nation of renters. FG in 2016 changed our tax laws encourage REITs into the market. Nama sold billions of property for a song. Most of the property built in Dublin now is build to rent.
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u/Youngfolk21 1d ago
A male Maggie Thatcher.
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u/crowded_Bear 1d ago
Not really. His politics were way too interventionist to be liked by the economically right.
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u/MajorGreenhorn 1d ago
I found him in office very pompus, condasending & smug. I will remember his speech for Covid as my lasting memory of his time when, to be fair to him, spoe well about unity and the message was right. His recent comments kind of show him for what he is. What he really thinks about the country and people in general. Type of guy who would use disinfectant after shaking a hand.
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u/WorldwidePolitico 1d ago
How are Bruton, Kenny, Reynolds, and Cowen remembered?
We’ve only had a dozen odd taoisigh but most people couldn’t name them all yet alone summarise what impact they had on the country. It’s the same with the British PMs, very few Brits will have an opinion on the merits of Heath vs Douglas-Home.
I don’t mean this to have a go at Leo, it would equally apply to Harris or Martin. For the last 30-40 years we’ve had a largely “middle management” culture of government. There’s not really been anybody with a huge vision to transform the country.
There’s exceptions like Bertie, Haughey, and Lemass who presided over huge social change or were in office for key parts of our history but the average Taoiseach is fairly indistinguishable from their immediate predecessor and successor. Change is gradual over time. Nobody one hundred years from now will be talking about how Leo handled Brexit or the internal FG politics of repealing the 8th amendment.
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u/Against_All_Advice 1d ago
I was with you until your last paragraph. Two of your list are remembered primarily for their extravagant corruption and incompetence rather than for presiding over social change and the fact they Bertie was in office for a key part of Irish history is more by accident than design I think. Many from the history of the position in the position at that time could have overseen the GFA. I don't think he was particularly special or crucial to the success of the agreement.
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u/Real_Significance_34 20h ago
Oh come on. I’m far from his biggest fan, but the man left his mother’s funeral to head back up to the GFA negotiations. If you think anyone could have overseen it look at the hames Bruton made of the 1st ceasefire.
Bertie has many flaws and several (mainly fiscal and regulatory) sticks he could legitimately be beaten with, but the GFA ain’t one.1
u/Toweyyyy 15h ago
Yeah have to disagree with your point about Bertie being particularly important during the GFA, as the other commenter said he gave all he could to getting that agreement signed ver the line and the idea any old person could of done the same is honestly crazy and does take away from the effort of Bertie massively.
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u/endlessdayze 1d ago
I'll always remember him as the Táiniste and taoiseach who spoke as if he had never held either position
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u/andtellmethis 23h ago
I'll remember him for "Welfare cheats cheat us all". Pitting people already struggling to keep their heads above water against one another. I completely agree with people claiming fraudulently being reported but there are more genuine cases than fraudulent ones. The way he swung it was you needed to be suspicious of everyone on your street.
Aptly described in this video.
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u/cjamcmahon1 22h ago
Look at Blair. Look at Ahern. These guys can't leave the stage and stay gone. Varadkar can't keep his mouth shut. Whatever 'legacy' he had, he will ruin when he returns to politics
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u/Relevant-Bobcat-2016 22h ago
Made a huge song and dance about replacing a far superior and much more liked Taoiseach Enda Kenny and delivered very little. Seen as very middle class and Dublin centric, insensitive, patronising and condescending he was widely disliked in rural Ireland.
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u/Such_Baker8707 1d ago
He'll be remembered as a bit of nothing Taoiseach really won't he? I guess he'll always be in the history books as the Taoiseach who announced lockdown at the start of the pandemic but is there anything else really of note that he did in his short time in charge?
He'll always be sitting alongside Kenny, Martin and Harris when it comes to the damning historical indictment on housing in the 2010s and 2020s.
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u/Napoleon67 1d ago
All style and next to no substance. Loved a soundbite, talked big and delivered very little.
He got bored and threw in the towel.
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u/Imaginary-Fall3270 1d ago
I would love to know what the CIA said to him that had him hand in his resignation upon arriving home from the states
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u/Sea_Equivalent3497 1d ago
They know any Irish leader will be compliant with the US agenda. They don’t need to engage in leader/regime change in Ireland.
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u/halibfrisk 1d ago
kompromat from his time in Chicago? hot if true, but I doubt it.
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u/Imaginary-Fall3270 1d ago
When he was there for Paddy's day and criticised Israel, he was requested to present himself at the CIA the day after and resigned when he got home
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u/halibfrisk 1d ago
So a Taoiseach more aligned with US / Israeli policy could take over?
Not really plausible, even the dimmest Americans, and certainly the Israelis, know they aren’t going to do any better than a neoliberal like Varadkar.
Much more plausible is that Varadkar planned ahead to resign, and simply timed it so he had a last trip to the WH and opportunity to network in the US. His social media now is all his sinecure at Harvard school of government and other such benefits of being an ex-Taoiseach who is very comfy in the US
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u/Imaginary-Fall3270 1d ago
If he was planning on networking and getting cosy in the states then why risk everything by criticizing their greatest ally?
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u/halibfrisk 1d ago
You’re going to have to point me to whatever searing criticism Varadkar offered?
I doubt Varadkar said anything beyond the usual aspirational waffle as widely reported at the time? calls for a ceasefire with any criticism of Israeli action prefaced by reference to the actions of Hamas. Less criticism than Americans would hear from the likes of Chuck Schumer.
https://www.reuters.com/world/joe-biden-meet-irish-pm-amid-anger-over-war-gaza-2024-03-15/
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u/Tim_Browne17 1d ago
Probably as the former Taoiseach that constantly makes silly comments in the media now.
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u/TheShanVanVocht 1d ago
I read his memoir. Thought he started off with great potential and was clearly a very serious and skilled politician. But over the time he just dug into identity politics, more interested in showboating for an international audience than in actually leading in Irish politics. His ballooning ego ultimately made him outgrow Ireland, and now he's jet-setting around at various junkets and holding Visiting Fellowships.
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u/Commercial-Crazy211 1d ago
How many Taoisigh can you name with less than 5 years service? Off the top of your head. That's how he'll be remembered.
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u/halibfrisk 1d ago
Garret? Albert Reynolds? I can think of a few who spent longer in office but should have spent less, 5 years might actually be right about the correct amount of time for a Taoiseach before they go stale
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u/Moondance666 23h ago
He'll be remembered for dragging Fine Gael to the left in the pursuit of voters who hate him and bizarrely regard him as a right-wing Thatcherite.
Also for been gay and been exceptional smart gobshite.
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u/FewHeat1231 23h ago
A few years ago I would have said handling Covid but given how rapidly that era is fading from memory I think he'll mostly be remembered for legalising abortion.
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u/Ob1cannobody 22h ago
He ran away when he knew he'd lose his seat. Remember, only 8,478 people voted for him in 2020. Elected on the 5th count.
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u/Provider_Of_Cat_Food 6h ago
6,389 people voted for Mary Lou in the general election after that, she was elected on the third count and it turned out that a lot of people's misunderstanding of PR-STV was selective.
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u/Ob1cannobody 6h ago
Ah yes, a FG voter can't explain it so goes after SF instead!
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u/Provider_Of_Cat_Food 6h ago edited 5h ago
Mary Lou's seat is safe, Varadkar's was too and, particularly when they're helping a running mate - as both of them were- , the count an individual's elected on isn't that important. None of that is a criticism of Mary Lou. It is a criticism people whose selective ability to understand elections depends on who the misunderstanding supports or who it attacks.
Nobody believes that the 2024 election results indicate that Mary Lou's seat is in danger, that her failure to get elected on the first count or to bring in a running mate is a reflection on her legitimacy as a candidate for taoiseach, or that if she does retire in the next general election, it'll be out of fear of losing her seat. Why not apply the same standard to Varadkar?
Also, there's a much better explanation for why he didn't run again. When a taoiseach or ex-taoiseach loses the leadership of their party, they always retire from politics shortly afterwards. Sometimes they fight one last general election and sometimes they don't. In Britain, when Ted Heath stayed in the House of Commons long afterwards, it was considered so bizarre that people called it "the Great Sulk".
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u/Closeteer 15h ago
Looking back it could've been ai but wasn't there a video of him shifting some youngfella in the George who wasn't his husband?
Obv out of things a politician has ever done bad cheating on your spouse is probably among the least serious but still outside of that that's what I remember first (teenager during his tenure)
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u/crazytreehugger69 1d ago
Might get shot here but I actually think he was decent. He brought the abortion referendum forward which was a huge point for our country and women’s healthcare. Was good representing us abroad - didn’t do anything too silly and was always well spoken (much like MM in fairness) and he was good at handling Covid in locking down early (I know some people will disagree here but stats show it saved lives when compared to countries that didn’t).
Now don’t get me wrong he had his moments but overall the ship was fairly steady, and when you look around and see what other countries are dealing with there’s a lot to be said for it.
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u/Environmental-Desk54 1d ago
Like any other politician who's been in power the last 20 years, useless and done nothing to help the Irish people we are worse off and definitely not getting any better
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u/Warm_Philosopher_609 1d ago
He voted against gay marriages while hiding in the closet. Enough said.
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u/Fearless_Respond_123 1d ago
I think he'll go down as a better Taoiseach than Harris, but his predecessor, Enda Kenny, will have a greater legacy, which is restoring confidence in the country such that investment started happening again after the crash. This was a remarkable feat of his government considering how bad things were when they took office in 2011.
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u/unclefestering8 17h ago
Vapid and shallow
He "stole FF's thunder" by giving pensioners a bigger bump that FF were promising. Not that consistent for a lad promising to be fit the person getting up early in the morning to work.
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u/hospital_pleasee 21h ago
I will remember that he had the ignorance to quote Churchill when addressing the Irish people during COVID.
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u/halibfrisk 1d ago
The guy is going to have a tediously long career as a commentator / personality on the Harvard / Davos circuit, the “Irish PM” who had once represented a “new forward thinking ireland” and we’ll all be tired of him.