On Tuesday, An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar crossed the border for an extensive day of engagements in Northern Ireland. His schedule had him visiting Hillsborough Castle and meeting with local business leaders before taking part in the highly-anticipated Leaders’ Debate at St Mary’s College on the Falls Road, one of the highlights of the Féile an Phobail.

But the Ireland Funds Leadership Lecture, which he delivered at The Duncairn Centre, struck a different tone on the day; one in which the main focus was not solely on Brexit but, as the name would suggest, on the nature of leadership.

The Taoiseach started by sharing his story of joining the Washington Ireland Programme and being the first of four from the Republic of Ireland to join young people from Northern Ireland, in “the inaugural year of Channel’s Four Big Brother.” He commented on how the first year of students from the whole island going to Washington had its own “reality TV feel to it,” noting that it was the first time he had ever met people from Northern Ireland, let alone learn about the dynamics between the two communities.

He contrasted that initial trip with his visits now to Washington for St. Patrick’s Day. When as Taoiseach he was invited by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi for a tour of Capital Hill, he joked that he told her: “I used to give the tour twice a day.”

That early trip, he said, laid the foundations of his political schooling.

In his speech he explored the nature of politics and the “possibility of the impossible,” which requires politicians to step away from the negative and red-lined politics of Brexit and examine how politics has the ability to achieve great things.  “Politics itself is the science of everything and the art of the impossible,” he said. But he was cautious in his foundations of optimism. Democracy indeed can give great freedom to a society, but brings with it an enormous reasonability upon its citizens.

The Taoiseach shared the story of his first election for local county council – the first and only election he has lost. He learned more from that defeat, he said, than any election that has come afterwards. “There is no shame in defeat, as long as you learn from it; and if you should fail, fail forward.”

From this the Taoiseach offered three principles of political leadership he encouraged potential leaders to abide by:

  1. You have to be willing to believe in the impossible;
  2. Leadership should be about providing hope;
  3. There is a vital need to take criticism on board.

Exploring these concepts, the Taoiseach addressed the climate emergency, noting that young people are feeling this challenge the most. Leadership surrounding this issue is now required more than ever to tackle it head on. Our way of life, our economies and our politics have become interwoven with one another. And because of this, we must all take action to address the crisis.

As an island we need to empower communities to deliver a vision which can be local and global, he said. The narrative needs to change that there are opportunities within a green economy for job growth. And he stressed that climate migration could become the biggest challenge of all if not addressed, and that we must help developing nations achieve this goal too.

The Taoiseach said that the Ireland he grew up in was a very different place and was “a much colder place” for people who did not live in the mainstream. “We didn’t have visible walls between our communities in the way that there would be in Northern Ireland. But there were walls nonetheless and I think my personal story would have been impossible in that Ireland, certainly impossible had I been born 20 years earlier.”

Change came about, he reflected, not because of one person, but because there were new generations which simply wanted to do things differently.

In his closing remarks he encouraged us to build the societies and communities we want to see. “We can simply no longer say that it’s not our problem.” Leadership is about taking calculated risks. In Ireland we need to always understand both the urban and the rural, be honest about who we were then and who we are now. We need to take stock and challenge ourselves on “our differences, our failings and our imperfections.”

He said he believed the young people in front of him were a source of strength and inspiration; that we “know the obstacles, the barriers and are not afraid to try and make mistakes for that is your story.”

Over the past three years there has been much discussion about how Brexit has devoured the premierships of Cameron, May and is now in the process of devouring Johnson.

We have perhaps not given enough attention to how this has the possibility of defining Varadkar’s  own time in office. The media’s attention was of course focused on his comments at the Leaders’ Debate on Brexit and Irish Unity, but this speech offered a small glimpse of his leadership style and the issues he wishes to tackle beyond the pressing challenge of Brexit.

The issue of climate change has the potential to unite the rural and urban communities if given the right direction and it is vital the next generation is given guidance so there is no gap within political leadership and policy approaches. We have seen the deficit of this in terms of Northern Ireland’s absent Assembly.

The Taoiseach’s speech displayed a new side to the man: one of optimism, charisma and, indeed, a dash of humour. It is clear his attention is now looking towards the foundations for a legacy that is beyond Brexit. This was a refreshing speech in that it offered people political hope for their future – something all too often lacking in our current debates. By setting out these principles and challenges we have been offered new tools in which to analyse his premiership in the future.

 

The Ireland Funds Leadership Series is set to be a regular event. Keep an eye on social media to see when the next event will take place.