All parties in Ireland must promise to push actively for the reunification of the island, the country’s former European People’s Party-aligned Taoiseach (Prime Minister), Leo Varadkar, has said.
Speaking to local paper of record The Irish Times, the former leader of Fine Gael—a member of Ursula von der Leyen’s European Parliament faction—said he did not think the reunification of the north and south of Ireland was “inevitable”, but that it was now a goal that needed to be actively pushed towards by all political parties aligned with the idea of Irish independence.
“For a lot of people, unification is an aspiration, it’s an idea. Whereas I think it needs to become an objective for the next government in Ireland, no matter who’s in that government,” he told the publication.
I think almost all trends point towards unification in the next few decades. I can’t put a timeline, but in the next few decades. There are lots of different things in its favour.
“I’m not saying it should just be in the Fine Gael manifesto, I’m saying that it should be in the manifesto of all the parties.”
Varadkar added he believed Irish reunification—a long-term ideological goal of all nationalists in the country—could be achieved relatively soon, though he refused to put a concrete timeline on the process.
“I think almost all trends point towards unification in the next few decades. I can’t put a timeline, but in the next few decades. There are lots of different things in its favour,” he said.
“There are the demographics, the fact that the Republic is so much more prosperous now than the North, and then also that Brexit has changed the UK’s relationship with Europe and the rest of the world.”
Varadkar’s comments came amid an increasing interest in the topic of reunification in Ireland.
Spurred initially by Britain’s exit from the European Union, the election of Keir Starmer’s Labour Party earlier this year has given nationalists in Ireland hope the unification of the island could be around the corner, with the UK leader being perceived as favourably disposed to the country.
Mary Lou McDonald, the cross-border leader of the pro-reunification Sinn Féin party, publicly encouraged Starmer to commit to holding an all-Ireland referendum on the subject.
“We’re living in a time when history will be made by the people. That’s why referendums on Irish unity must be held by the end of this decade to allow the people to have their say,” she said.
“The moment will come to name the date, but first, the British government must make clear its intention to trigger a referendum as per the Good Friday Agreement, and set out the threshold for the referendum as they see it—there can’t be any more dodging.
“I would say, this is a question of honour. This is a question of keeping your word and of doing the right thing,” she added.
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— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) September 2, 2024
