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Simon Harris and his team got up early in the morning to hatch a ‘shock and awe’ leadership plan

Tactic outguns his rivals in bid to become next leader of Fine Gael and Taoiseach

Simon Harris looks set to become the next Fine Gael leader and Taoiseach after the shock resignation of Leo Varadkar. Photograph: Collins

Jennifer Bray's face
Jennifer Bray
Thu Mar 21 2024 - 12:58

Before the clock had struck 7am on Thursday and before the first headlines were rolling, a plan had been hatched.

Leo Varadkar may have blindsided almost everyone in Fine Gael with his decision to step down but behind closed doors on Wednesday the leadership candidates sprang immediately into action, wasting no time hitting the phones.

Fine Gaelers may have been out on the airwaves declaring it was Varadkar’s day and not the time to be talking shop, but privately they were conveying their support to their preferred leadership candidates. By Wednesday night a sketch had emerged of how Thursday would play out. Sources in the Simon Harris camp said late Wednesday that he had the support of at least 20 members of the parliamentary party, and this is exactly how it played out on Thursday morning.

Paschal Donohoe, en route to a job in Dundalk on Thursday, briefly remarked when asked about running himself that it was “a little bit too early for all of that”.

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Supporters of Heather Humphreys said she was holding her counsel for the time being.

Simon Coveney had already ruled himself out.

And then, on LMFM, Helen McEntee dramatically ruled herself out, saying she decided last year if an immediate vacancy arose she would wait it out. When asked who she would be backing, she declined to say.

The pitch was clear for Harris, and the first out of the traps in the Fine Gael parliamentary party was Senator Barry Ward, who told The Irish Times at 7:59am he would be formally nominating Harris.

Hot on his heels was Minister of State Neale Richmond, who told RTÉ's Morning Ireland it was time for a “step change” and a “reset both in our party and in Government” and that Harris had the “energy and experience” to deliver that change. It was put to him that there was an orchestrated campaign under way designed to frighten off other candidates, which Richmond denied.

Political Correspondent at The Irish Times, Cormac McQuinn, looks back at the career of Simon Harris.

By 8:20am, Harris was halfway to securing that magic number of six signatures to get himself into the race. A half an hour after this he officially became the first leadership candidate to garner those key signatures after getting the backing of Senators Michael Conway and Micheal Cariggy as well MEP Maria Walsh.

By 10am, when nominations officially opened, he had the backing of 15 members of the parliamentary party, with endorsements from Kerry TD Brendan Griffin, Sligo Leitrim TD Frank Feighan and MEP Frances Fitzgerald.

On the last count before lunch, Harris had the backing of 23 members of the parliamentary party.

Without a doubt, Harris has taken a leaf out of the Varadkar “shock and awe” book.

In the last Fine Gael leadership race in 2017, Varadkar’s campaign team had orchestrated a high-profile series of announcements that would give him a 37 to 17 lead over his rival, Coveney, among parliamentary party members. The game had nearly ended before it had properly began.

With every new announcement and endorsement, the pitch became that bit harder to play for Donohoe and Humphreys.

Because once the pre-planned announcements are made, the opportunistic votes are sure to follow, followed by the cautious holdouts. And so it was.

Just before lunchtime, McEntee appeared on Newstalk and revealed she would also be backing Harris, becoming the first Cabinet heavyweight to stand in his corner. Minutes later Donohoe and Humphreys bowed out of the competition.

Those who have observed Harris closely over the last two years believe he has been planning for this day for quite some time, shoring up support in every layer of the party. After playing a long game, Harris has outgunned his rivals and now looks set to become Ireland’s next taoiseach.

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