2017 Fine Gael leadership election explained

Election Name:2017 Fine Gael leadership election
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:2002 Fine Gael leadership election
Previous Year:2002
Next Election:2024 Fine Gael leadership election
Next Year:2024
2Blank:Party Membership
3Blank:Local Representatives
4Blank:Parliamentary Party
1Blank:Electoral College
Candidate1:Leo Varadkar
Leaders Seat1:Dublin West
2Data1:3,772 (8.7%)
3Data1:123 (5.5%)
4Data1:51 (45.4%)
1Data1:59.6%
Candidate2:Simon Coveney
Leaders Seat2:Cork South-Central
2Data2:7,051 (16.3%)
3Data2:100 (4.5%)
4Data2:22 (19.6%)
1Data2:40.4%
Leader
Before Election:Enda Kenny
After Election:Leo Varadkar

The 2017 Fine Gael leadership election was triggered in May 2017, when Enda Kenny resigned as leader of Fine Gael. Voting began by members of Fine Gael and Young Fine Gael on 29 May 2017. On 2 June Leo Varadkar was announced as the victor, beating rival Simon Coveney.[1] With Fine Gael being the governing party at the time, this election effectively selected a new Taoiseach for Ireland.

The electoral system was an electoral college of the members of the Fine Gael party, Fine Gael councillors and Fine Gael parliamentary party members. The result was announced on 2 June 2017 when, at a special meeting, the parliamentary party cast their votes. Varadkar became Fine Gael leader immediately upon the announcement of the result, but did not immediately assume the office of Taoiseach.[2] On 13 June at a Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting, he announced that the runner up Simon Coveney would be appointed the deputy leader of the party.[3]

Varadkar was appointed by the President to the office of Taoiseach following his nomination by a vote in Dáil Éireann on 14 June.[4] He became Ireland's youngest Taoiseach, as well as the first who is openly gay.[5] Varadkar is mixed-race and is the first person of Indian-origin to serve in the role of Taoiseach.[6]

Background

Enda Kenny has been Fine Gael leader since 2002, being first Leader of the Opposition, and then Taoiseach following the 2011 general election. The 2016 general election saw Fine Gael lose seats, and its Labour Party coalition partners substantially diminished. Despite these losses, Kenny was unexpectedly able to form a new minority coalition government. Kenny was weakened by criticisms of his handling Garda whistleblower scandal, and—according to an analysis by RTÉ.ie—was an electoral liability to his party at a time when an election could be imminent leading to calls for him to step down.[7]

On 17 May 2017, Kenny announced his intention to step down as party leader, effective at midnight.[8] He requested that the party conclude the election of his successor by 2 June and said that he would step down as Taoiseach shortly thereafter.[9]

Candidates

Declined to be candidates

Electoral process

Rule 49 of Fine Gael's Constitution and Rules[16] state that a leadership contest is decided by an electoral college.[17] These rules were brought in to effect in 2002 after Enda Kenny assumed the leadership, and came about as a result of a motion put forward by Leo Varadkar. This means that this was the first Fine Gael election where the electoral college was in effect. The electoral votes are allocated:

At the time of the vote the parliamentary party consisted of 73 members (50 TDs, 19 Senators and 4 MEPs). There were about 21,000 party members and Fine Gael had 235 local representatives: 232 councillors and 3 Údarás na Gaeltachta members.

Candidates required signatures of 10% of the parliamentary party, i.e. eight signatures.

Party members had to be affiliated for at least two years to be eligible to vote.

Endorsements

Leo Varadkar received the endorsement of:[18]

Simon Coveney received the endorsement of:[19]

Undeclared parliamentary members prior to the election included:[20]

Because of Varadkar's commanding lead in support among parliamentarians he was considered the strong favourite to win.[21]

Timetable

The following are the key dates in the leadership election:[22]

Result

The Parliamentary Party accounts for 65% of the vote, ordinary Fine Gael members account for 25%, with the remaining 10% of votes allocated to Fine Gael local representatives.

Although Coveney won the members' vote by a 2:1 margin, Varadkar's strong support with the Parliamentary Party secured him a commanding victory in the electoral college.

CandidateParliamentary Party[23] Members[24] Local public representatives[25] Total[26]
Votes%Votes%Votes%Votes (unweighted)Result (weighted)
Leo Varadkar 5169.86%3,77234.85%12355.16%3,946align=center 59.64%
Simon Coveney2230.14%7,05165.15%10044.84%7,173align=center 40.36%
Total73100%10,823100%223100%11,119align=center 100%

Notes and References

  1. News: Varadkar 'delighted and humbled' by election result. 2 June 2017. RTÉ.ie. 2 June 2017. 15 April 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190415064435/https://www.rte.ie/news/2017/0602/879755-fine-gael-leadership/. live.
  2. News: Fine Gael elects a new leader today. Here's how it's all set to go down. TheJournal.ie. Sean. Murray. 2 June 2017. 22 June 2021. 2 June 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170602095918/http://www.thejournal.ie/fine-gael-leadership-2-3422577-Jun2017/. live.
  3. News: Varadkar appoints Coveney as deputy Fine Gael leader. RTÉ News. 13 June 2017. 13 June 2017. 13 June 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170613180508/https://www.rte.ie/news/2017/0613/882504-leo-varadkar-fine-gael/. live.
  4. News: Leo Varadkar elected as Republic of Ireland's taoiseach. 14 June 2017. BBC. 14 June 2017. 3 April 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190403094927/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-40266513. live.
  5. News: Leo Varadkar: Ireland set to have first gay PM. 2 June 2017. BBC. 2 June 2017. 2 June 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170602173609/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-40139428. live.
  6. News: Indian-origin gay minister Leo Varadkar set to become Ireland PM. Hindustan Times. 2 June 2017. 22 June 2021. 2 June 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170602115310/http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/indian-origin-gay-minister-leo-varadkar-set-to-become-ireland-pm/story-0xVa9nBZJUO5EGDqYT4dmO.html. live.
  7. News: Dowling. Brian. Enda Kenny's political career. 2 June 2017. RTÉ.ie. 17 May 2017. 18 May 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170518140947/https://www.rte.ie/news/analysis-and-comment/2017/0517/875649-enda-kennys-political-career/. live.
  8. Web site: 'Let the games begin' - Emotional Enda fires starting gun on leadership race. 17 May 2017. Irish Independent. 18 May 2017. 18 May 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170518070209/http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/let-the-games-begin-emotional-enda-fires-starting-gun-on-leadership-race-35728005.html. live.
  9. News: Enda Kenny announces resignation as Fine Gael leader. The Irish Times. Fiach. Kelly. Sarah. Bardon. 17 May 2017. 22 June 2021. 20 May 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170520154810/http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/enda-kenny-announces-resignation-as-fine-gael-leader-1.3086114. live.
  10. Web site: Simon Coveney launches his Fine Gael leadership bid. Newstalk. 18 May 2017. 22 June 2021. 30 June 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180630080735/https://www.newstalk.com/Fine-Gael-officials-to-formally-open-leadership-contest. live.
  11. Web site: Campaign for Leo » Courage to take us forward. campaignforleo.ie. 18 May 2017. 11 June 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170611002425/https://campaignforleo.ie/. live.
  12. News: Richard Bruton rules himself out as Fine Gael leader - and will back Leo Varadkar. Cormac. Fitzgerald. TheJournal.ie. 18 May 2017. 22 June 2021. 18 May 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170518102631/http://www.thejournal.ie/fitzgerald-leadership-3395709-May2017/. live.
  13. News: Paschal Donohoe says he will not stand for Fine Gael leadership. The Irish Times. Vivienne. Clarke. Sarah. Bardon. Harry. McGee. 17 February 2017. 22 June 2021. 12 November 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201112023947/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/paschal-donohoe-says-he-will-not-stand-for-fine-gael-leadership-1.2979121. live.
  14. News: Simon Harris rules himself out of Fine Gael leadership battle. 6 March 2017. Irish Examiner. 17 May 2017. 27 May 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170527020058/http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/simon-harris-rules-himself-out-of-fine-gael-leadership-battle-780195.html. live.
  15. News: Richard Bruton rules himself out of FG leadership bid, says he will support Varadkar - Independent.ie. Irish Independent. Niall. O'Connor. Kevin. Doyle. Ryan. Nugent. 18 May 2017. 22 June 2021.
  16. Web site: Constitution and Rules - Fine Gael. 18 May 2017. 19 September 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170919195757/https://www.finegael.ie/mh_members_info/constitution-2/. live.
  17. News: What are the rules governing election of Enda Kenny's successor?. The Irish Times. 22 June 2021. 6 March 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180306081321/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/what-are-the-rules-governing-election-of-enda-kenny-s-successor-1.3086652. live.
  18. News: As it happened: FG leadership, political developments. 18 May 2017. 18 May 2017. 18 May 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170518140542/https://www.rte.ie/news/2017/0518/876178-politics-live/. live.
  19. News: Five senior ministers declare for Varadkar as Paschal Donohoe adds support - Independent.ie. Irish Independent. Philip. Ryan. Niall. O'Connor. Kevin. Doyle. Ryan. Nugent. 18 May 2017. 22 June 2021. 18 May 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170518153620/http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/varadkar-supported-by-at-least-five-cabinet-ministers-including-paschal-donohoe-35730250.html. live.
  20. News: FG Leadership Tracker - The Irish Times. The Irish Times. 22 June 2021. 21 October 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201021112058/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/fg-leadership-race. live.
  21. News: Halpin. Padraic. Ireland on the verge of electing its first openly gay Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. 2 June 2017. Independent. 30 May 2017. 3 June 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170603151249/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ireland-leo-varadkar-first-gay-taoiseach-republic-eire-lgbt-a7762496.html. live.
  22. Web site: Process for the Fine Gael Leadership Election 2017 - Fine Gael. 18 May 2017. 19 May 2017. 5 June 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170605145903/https://www.finegael.ie/process-fine-gael-leadership-election-2017/. live.
  23. Web site: Results of votes cast by the Parliamentary Party. #FGLE17. Twitter. 2 June 2017. 2 June 2017. 24 May 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190524190919/https://twitter.com/FineGael/status/870692012068028416. live.
  24. Web site: Results of votes cast by Members. #FGLE17. Twitter. 2 June 2017. 2 June 2017. 24 May 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190524190922/https://twitter.com/FineGael/status/870683431037841408. live.
  25. Web site: Results of votes cast by Local Public Reps. #FGLE17. Twitter. 2 June 2017. 2 June 2017. 18 November 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171118102513/https://twitter.com/FineGael/status/870688822014525440. live.
  26. Web site: Results of the combined votes cast by the Electoral College. #FGLE17. Twitter. 2 June 2017. 2 June 2017. 17 November 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171117230815/https://twitter.com/finegael/status/870693601834958848. live.

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