Ireland’s first gay PM cops criticism for right-wing politics
Image: Leo Varadkar. Image: Facebook.
LEO Varadkar, the openly gay son of an Indian migrant, has been elected the new leader of Ireland’s governing Fine Gael party.
His election means Varadkar will be the next prime minister of Ireland, The Sydney Morning Herald has reported.
Varadkar, 38, will be Ireland’s first openly gay leader, its first Asian prime minister, and the youngest prime minister ever.
“If my election today shows anything, it is that prejudice has no hold in this republic,” he said in a speech in Dublin.
“I know when my father travelled 5,000 miles to build a new home in Ireland, I doubt that he ever dreamed that one day his son would grow up to be its leader and despite his differences, his son would be judged by his actions not his identity.
“Every proud parent in Ireland today can dream big dreams for their children.”
However, Varadkar’s opponents have criticised his right-wing politics. Currently the social protection minister, he recently led a campaign against “welfare cheats”.
“Leo Varadkar is a Tory,” said opposition leader Gerry Adams in a statement.
“Fine Gael will be dragged even further to the right under his leadership and that can only mean further hardship for ordinary people.”
People in Ireland and around the world have taken to social media to voice their unhappiness with the new prime minister–elect.
“So much for pro-choice,” tweeted one person, in relation to Varadkar’s conservative policies on abortion.
“He’s gay, the son of an Indian immigrant, and he eats poor people alive,” wrote another.
https://twitter.com/ARanganathan72/status/871439538706460672
https://twitter.com/wokescumbag/status/871482710153416705
https://twitter.com/Sfurkles/status/871395167441485824
Varadkar is set to become the new prime minister when Irish parliament next sits on June 13.
Have we gotten backwards in time in Australia or what? Why are we so behind the times here in Australia? Just look at our outdated laws on opposite-sex marriage, media, trading hours, prositution, lockouts, political donations, abortion and euthonasia laws! We here in Australia need a reformation now! We need to become a Republic now and implement a bill of rights! Royal families are so last century! We need to immediately recognise aboriginals in our constitution. We need to ban revenge porn at a national level, not state level! We need to abolish all state and territory governments! We need to re-introduce the death penalty for terrorism, murder and child molestation! We need to have an athiest, Islamic, female, disabled, Asian, transgender, bisexual, gay and/or aboriginal prime minister now! White, heterosexual Christian men should be completely banned from being a Senator or MP, let alone prime minister!
Why does the writer presume that all Gays are left wing and pro choice?
I think it’s fine to criticise his politics if you disagree with them. He’s a politician, that’s his role. There are good and bad reasons to criticise anyone (hopefully constructively) and as long as it’s his political philosophy and not his sexuality the criticism focuses on it’s quite legit. Hopefully his experience of diversity gives him a dose of realism to go with his right-wing thinking and he’s not an ideologue though.
Disappointed