Kenny offers his ‘hearty congratulations’
ENDA Kenny offered his ‘heartiest congratulations’ to Leo Varadkar as he succeeded him as Fine Gael leader following 15 years in the job.
Mr Kenny remains as Taoiseach until Mr Varadkar is elected to succeed him by a majority of TDs in the Dáil, which is expected to take place on Tuesday week, June 13.
Despite a widespread sense that Mr Varadkar and his supporters had put pressure on Mr Kenny to stand down as party leader sooner than he would have wished, Mr Kenny gave his successor his backing.
‘This is a tremendous honour for him and I know he will devote his life to improving the lives of people across our country. He will have my full support in the work that lies ahead,’ he said.
‘I want to also thank and pay tribute to Simon Coveney for making the leadership election a real contest. This has been a wonderful exercise in democracy for the Fine Gael party.
‘Fine Gael supporters all over the country really enjoyed the experience of participating in the election of a new leader, in a new way.
‘As I said when I stepped down as party leader, I will now provide a brief but appropriate period for Leo Varadkar to engage with groups and members supportive of Government, and with other parties in the Dáil, regarding provision of Government for the future.
‘The most important priority has to be the continued progress of our country led by Fine Gael in government. I know that Leo has the capacity to provide the leadership required in order to achieve this.’
Mr Kenny did not attend yesterday’s leadership announcement but had earlier attended the Bloom Festival in Dublin amongst other appointments.
In an earlier newsletter sent to party members he spoke of how he remembered the day that he was elected leader of the party and how there was a mix of ‘nervousness and excitement’ at the challenges that lay ahead.