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Politics

13th Jul 2017

Leo Varadkar is on the front of the latest TIME Magazine cover

Something to be proud of.

JOE

He will be pretty chuffed with himself.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has been grabbing headlines all over the world since taking over from Enda Kenny and his fame has taken another big step.

He has landed himself on the front cover of the Europe edition of TIME magazine, which is set to hit the shops on 24 July.

In a Q & A with Jennifer Duggan of the magazine, the article starts by talking about the Taoiseach’s sexuality and how “his appointment in June is symbolic of the shift in social values in the once staunchly Catholic country”.

The article points out that Varadkar is taking over the country at a good time when the Republic of Ireland is “emerging from a deep financial crisis and its economy is turning around”.

He talks about his recent meeting with Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, and how it was more than just a photo opportunity to compare different fancy socks.

Varadkar mentioned how he would like to see Britain change its mind and to remain in the EU and absolutely ruled out the possibility of Ireland leaving the EU.

The phone call with Trump also comes up as a topic of conversation in the interview and Varadkar explains how their talk on the phone wasn’t their first time coming across each other.

“We have actually spoken twice. The first time was many years ago, on a different matter,” said the Taoiseach.

“It was a small thing. When he bought the [Doonbeg] golf course in County Clare, I was Minister for Tourism at the time and he had a planning issue which we were able to resolve.

“It was resolved by the county council rather than by me but it was resolved,” he concluded.

The full TIME magazine interview with Leo Varadkar can be found here.

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