Mary Coughlan, the former tánaiste, has compared Leo Varadkar to Donald Trump because of his love of novelty socks and social media.
Ms Coughlan suggested that the taoiseach was using trivial distractions to avoid serious interviews with the media. In an interview on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta yesterday, Ms Coughlan said that, like the US president, Mr Varadkar did not focus on the big questions for the country. “On a personal level he is a gentleman . . . but there are very important things happening at the moment and socks and the like, well, they’re not important at all,” she said.
“It’s easy to be on Twitter and not to do interviews, like President Trump in the US at the moment, but it’s not right at all.”
Mr Varadkar has done three interviews since he was elected in early June.
The taoiseach wore red socks depicting Canadian “mounties” and maple leaves during the recent visit of Justin Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister. He also presented Mr Trudeau with a pair of green Irish socks as a gift.
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Speaking to Aodh Máirtín Ó Fearraigh, Ms Coughlan confirmed that she would not put her name forward for the general election, while adding that the state was neglecting rural communities. “They have forgotten those outside of Dublin and that’s what’s upsetting people so much. It’s great that Dublin is prospering and doing well with employment, but that’s not to be seen outside of the Pale,” she said.
Ms Coughlan said that independent candidates, despite election promises, had been ineffective. “Did they make any difference to the country, although they were elected to the Dáil? What did they do? What power have they to support the communities that elected them? In my opinion, they have done nothing,” she said.