Five months in and yet to face a real challenge

It’s just over five months since Leo Varadkar took the reins of Fine Gael, writes Juno McEnroe

Younger than any taoiseach before him, he has taken to the job with gusto, an enthusiasm and energy but still with that candid approach that helped him rise through the ranks in the party.

But he has yet to face a real challenge, a political storm, so many of which befell his predecessor Enda Kenny. Yes, there have been the banks, Brexit, the ongoing housing crisis, and ,of course, the gardaí. But, in the main, the new Taoiseach has escaped any scandals or events of his own making. Many of these matters — in a similar way to when Varadkar was in health — were there when he arrived.