Irish face Brexit talks with new ‘rock star’ PM

Bloomberg

Leo Varadkar visited Galway last year, spending a day-and-a-half checking out state-sponsored jobs programs in the west of Ireland before heading to Eyre Square for a late-night snack.
The 38-year-old social protection minister, who will be sworn in Wednesday as Ireland’s youngest-ever prime minister, was quickly mobbed by revellers enjoying hamburgers, recalls Peter Feeney, a local councilor accompanying Varadkar on his trip. “He was like a rock star. He stood there, no problem, taking selfies for as long as it took,” said Feeney. “He has that X-factor.”
While the rise of the Indian immigrant’s son chimes with the emergence of a more youthful generation of leaders, Varadkar’s appeal lies in his ability to combine bolder positions than his rivals with a reputation for plain speaking. Varadkar, who admits he “has been known to talk too much,” has already started to sketch out a new approach to Brexit, the biggest foreign policy challenge facing Ireland in 50 years. Last week, Varadkar said Theresa May’s poor performance in the UK election represents a potential opportunity for Ireland to win a better deal on Brexit, a break from the assiduously diplomatic and even-handed approach his predecessor Enda Kenny took.
During his campaign to succeed Kenny, Varadkar advocated “special arrangements” for Northern Ireland during the Brexit process, allowing the region to remain in the single market after the rest of the UK exits. That clashes with the position of Arlene Foster, the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, who has argued against any special status for the province.
Foster, currently putting the finishing touches to a deal to keep May in power in London, is set to meet Varadkar in Dublin as soon as Friday.
Varadkar’s words have occasionally been used against him. In the run up to the 2011 general election, Varadkar said a new government wouldn’t give Irish banks “another cent” unless losses were widely imposed on investors.