Leo Varadkar has announced he is stepping down as leader of Ireland’s Fine Gael and that he will resign as taoiseach as soon as his successor is selected. Varadkar announced the surprise move at a press conference in Dublin on Wednesday. He said his reasons were ‘both personal and political’, and that the next taoiseach would have two months to prepare for local and European elections in June, and up to a year in office before the next general election. His departure as head of a three-party coalition does not automatically trigger a general election and he is expected to be replaced by his successor as Fine Gael leader