The rotating Taoiseach arrangement in the current coalition should return if the Government is reelected, according to Leo Varadkar.
The Taoiseach said he is confident the current Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Green Party coalition could return to power in the next election.
“I anticipate that all three parties will run independently in the next election,” he said. “We will have our own manifestos and seek our own mandates.
“But certainly, I believe that this is a Government that can be reelected - we're four years together now, we worked well together.”
Varadkar supports rotating Taoiseach
He said it’s also possible to see a return to the rotating Taoiseach arrangement.
When the current Government was elected three years ago, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin was first elected Taoiseach.
Mr Varadkar took the reins halfway through the coalition's current term.
“We’ve seen in two elections in a row where Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael were really only within 1% of each other, only a handful of seats,” he said.
“I think if we find ourselves in a scenario where the two parties are roughly the same size, then that possibility exists for the future and for the next Government.”
Mr Varadkar was asked if Green Party Leader Eamon Ryan could serve as Taoiseach during the Government’s term.
“I think if all three parties were within one or two per cent of each other, we’d certainly have to consider that,” he responded.
Support for the parties
Sinn Féin consistently topped opinion polls throughout this year, although support for the party has dropped slightly recently.
Mr Varadkar said the polls suggest the coalition parties would gain enough seats to form another Government.
“If you do believe, in opinion polls, you see the Government parties’ combined support is over 40%,” he said.
“That's not far off what's required for Government to be reelected – I would like to continue our work.”
The most recent Business Post poll found 29% of people would vote for Sinn Féin, a drop in 3% compared to the previous poll.
Fine Gael remained unchanged at 20%, while Fianna Fáil was at 16%, up one point. The Green Party was also unchanged at 4%.
