DUBLIN – On Sunday, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said that he is deciding the general election timing; media outlets and politicians are predicting a poll date of February 7th.
Varadkar said that on Tuesday, he would meet with his cabinet prior to the final announcement of the date. With the change in parliamentary arithmetic, Varadkar would have ideally preferred to go in summer to the country.
Varadkar’s Fine Gael minority government has been ruling since 2016 with the three-year cooperation deal with Fianna Fail led by Micheal Martin, which got extended to 2020 due to Brexit uncertainty.
By the end of January, Britain is all set to exit the European Union and therefore an ideal date for an election would be May, according to Varadkar and Martin.
Varadkar has approached Fianna Fail for support on a variety of issues and then has raised the likelihood of a snap election as soon as next month if both parties disagree on a short legislative programme.
Varadkar said that he has come to a decision but he intends to follow protocol by speaking to the cabinet and the opposition leader. The meeting is set for Tuesday and on Wednesday, the Dail which is the lower house of parliament will reconvene.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field