Taoiseach Enda Kenny has won a lot of praise internationally for how he subtly but firmly rebuked Donald Trump's immigration policies during this year's Paddy's Day trip to Washington DC.
However, it had been widely accepted that Kenny was preparing to step down as Taoiseach soon after his trip to visit the new President.
Now that Enda Kenny is in a strong moment, and the furore over the Maurice McCabe scandal has begun to subside, it seems that Kenny might not be so ready to relinquish his office after all.
The Irish Times has today reported that there are supporters of the Mayo man in Fine Gael who believe that it wouldn't make any sense for the Taoiseach to step down in the midst of Brexit negotiations. The Irish Times source said: “It would be daft for him to step down in the middle of such sensitive negotiations."
Minister of State for European Affairs Dara Murphy echoed this view, saying: “Given Enda Kenny’s experience and the fact that he is the one who has led the political negotiations, it is absolutely vital that the same team stays in place, especially the leader of the team."
It seems that this line of thinking has been rebuffed by those supporting Leo Varadkar as the next leader of the party, one of which reportedly said that the incumbent Taoiseach's departure would have nothing to do with the EU.
Ladbrokes currently has Leo Varadkar in a dead heat as the most likely TD to replace Kenny at 10/11, on the same odds as Simon Coveney. Frances Fitzgerald is the next most likely after that, but she is way behind with odds of 16/1.
This article first appeared on JOE.ie
