We’re too fickle - Taoiseach unfairly criticised

WHAT a fickle bunch we are. Leo Varadkar has been Taoiseach for two months and a few days but the warm, or at least the lukewarm, general welcome that greeted his elevation as a manifestation of generational change, and as a person with a more progressive worldview than his predecessor, has soured already.

His visit to Canada has provoked unfounded criticism. One commentator suggested that he should have berated his hosts because Canadian laws on abortion did not reflect their own position.

Another suggested he was more interested in schmoozing with world leaders than advancing Ireland’s cause. How bizarre, how small-minded — and what a poor understanding of how the wheels of diplomacy and international co-operation turn to everyone’s benefit.

Mr Varadkar is unlikely to lose too much sleep over these slings and arrows, or at least he should not.

It is far too early to judge him in any worthwhile way. The criticisms do, though, hint at why so many people shy away from committing to the kind active politics our democracy relies on.