Meet Simon Harris, Ireland’s first TikTok prime minister

The fresh PM established his support system through an innovative combination of tireless work and prowess in navigating social media platforms.

People who work with him and political experts have always seen the tall County Wicklow legislator as a possible future Taoiseach because he's good at talking and listening, and he's always full of energy and a hard worker. | Image by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images

Blog Entry: On the morning of March 26, 2024 at 4:00 am Central European Time (CET), a new blog post has been published.

Dublin was shaken when Leo Varadkar suddenly resigned from his position as the Prime Minister of Ireland, leaving the nation and his party in utter amazement. Among the politicians, only one seemed prepared to take on the challenge: Simon Harris.

People often use two common phrases to describe Harris, who is 37 years old. They say he has always been one to move quickly and that he'll be Ireland's first leader to use TikTok. These two things are valid and important to know when trying to understand why Harris won the race to become the leader of the Fine Gael party and will soon be Ireland's first premier from the Millennial generation.

According to his own judgment, Harris has progressed quickly in his political career, surpassing his expectations. In the upcoming month, when legislators officially choose him as Taoiseach, a title in Irish that means "chief" and is pronounced as "tee-shuck," Harris will be acknowledged as the youngest prime minister Ireland has ever had.

He had a guaranteed win since there were no other contenders running against him in the election to take over from Varadkar. Varadkar unexpectedly stepped down on Wednesday, making it an uncontested event that concluded on Sunday.

For quite some time, coworkers and analysts in the political sphere have regarded the tall legislator from County Wicklow as a potential future Taoiseach due to his articulate public speaking abilities, receptiveness, enthusiasm, and diligence. As a youth, he had already been recognized for possessing innate political talent. He spent his formative years in a seaside community to the south of Dublin, where his parents worked as a taxi driver and an assistant for people with special needs, respectively.

When Simon was 15, he distributed flyers to homes in support of a politician in the area. Before long, he took charge of holding his own neighborhood gatherings. When he turned 18, Harris began working as an assistant to members of parliament in Leinster House. Just one year later, he succeeded in being elected to local councils not just once, but twice. He ended up quitting university to focus on his political career.

When he was 24 years old, he became a representative for Wicklow in Dáil Éireann - the main lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's parliament with two chambers. This was a significant time for Fine Gael who had just won a major election. During his first speech, Harris had the privilege of nominating Enda Kenny as the next Taoiseach of Ireland, as the leader of Fine Gael at that time.

He was quickly appointed to the prestigious Public Accounts parliamentary committee. When Fine Gael faced a substantial defeat in the 2016 election but managed to remain in power with a weak minority government, he was given the challenging responsibility of leading the health Cabinet portfolio.

Although Harris wasn't any more successful in achieving tangible outcomes than those who came before him, he exhibited a charm that was well-suited for social media and appeared to be impervious to political harm during a time of labor disputes, packed hospital hallways, long waitlists, budget overspending, and misconduct accusations.

Harris' status as a health minister gained a boost due to his earlier involvement in politics as a teenager. At that time, Harris was advocating for improved government assistance for children with special needs, and he cited the example of his own younger brother, Adam, who is diagnosed with autism.

In 2017, when Varadkar took over as the Fine Gael leader and the prime minister after Kenny, Harris continued to handle the health portfolio. This was surprising since he had supported Varadkar's opponent Simon Coveney and despite the fact that Varadkar had already identified Harris as a potential competitor.

During that particular year, Harris entered into matrimony with his beloved partner Caoimhe Wade, who works as a cardiac nurse caring for children at a hospital in Dublin. They currently reside in Greystones, the affluent community where Harris grew up, and is recognized as having the most expensive real estate outside of Dublin. The couple have been blessed with a son and a daughter, with their familial journey being chronologically documented in popular publications with aid from Harris's personal posts on social media platforms.

One important quality of Harris as a politician is his ability to seamlessly blend his personal life with his political presence on social media. He does this effortlessly on various platforms like Facebook, Instagram and especially TikTok.

Varadkar's proficiency with social media enabled him to effectively engage voters. This was particularly beneficial after the 2020 election, which resulted in a weakened Fine Gael that struggled to form a new coalition government with two other parties. As a result, Harris was demoted to a Cabinet position that oversaw third-level education, which was of lesser importance.

The instructions provided a perfect opportunity for Harris to journey every week from one campus to the other, posting brief updates on social media and taking pictures of herself, creating an impression that she is a legislator who is more in touch with the worries of young adults trying to establish families and find stable housing.

Harris is getting ready to take on the role of Taoiseach and his TikTok supporters are nearing the 100,000 mark. This is over 10 times the amount of followers that his party currently has. In his most recent video, Harris addresses his audience directly, expressing gratitude towards the hundreds of thousands who watch his content and considers them his friends. He also reflects on how much he's grown from his days as a young, opinionated, and moody teenager.

He allows people to comment on all discussion boards, but he usually doesn't respond to the many furious posts asking for an urgent election. The current administration's mandate doesn't expire until March 2025.

Is Flash A Short-Lived Trend?

As the deadline quickly approaches, many are wondering if Harris will have a short-lived term as prime minister or if he can steer Fine Gael to a fourth consecutive government victory despite unfavorable polls.

Most of the Fine Gael lawmakers who supported him are optimistic, despite the fact that it's noticeable how many of these lawmakers have already declared their intention to retire from politics after their term.

In the following weeks, it will be interesting to see if Fine Gael experiences a significant boost in public support after the replacement of Varadkar with Harris. Harris intends to hold various events across the country to connect with voters before the Fine Gael conference on April 6 in Galway. On April 9, when the Dáil reconvenes after Easter break, Harris will officially become the Taoiseach. The upcoming opinion polls will reflect the public's reaction to these changes.

Currently, Fine Gael is in a difficult position as they attempt to win back voters who they lost since 2011. A lot of these voters have turned to rural independent lawmakers instead of Fine Gael because the party leaned towards the left as they partnered with mostly liberal coalition partners. It will be challenging for Fine Gael to earn back the trust of these voters.

Fine Gael faces a formidable challenge in retaining power as they prepare for re-election. This challenge comes in the form of Sinn Féin, an Irish republican party that was initially dominant in Northern Ireland but has now become the most widely supported political party in Ireland. In the 2020 election, Sinn Féin emerged as the winner in terms of votes, but was unable to take full advantage owing to a shortage of candidates. This is a mistake that they are unlikely to repeat as they aim to win more seats in the future.

Even though Fianna Fáil, the primary political ally of Fine Gael, has not completely ruled out a future collaboration with Sinn Féin after the elections, Harris has chosen to make it a priority in his early political initiatives.

During his victory speech over the weekend, Harris received the loudest applause from his party supporters when he created a clear distinction between his party and Sinn Féin. He pointed out that Sinn Féin has never cut ties with the banned Provisional IRA. Harris also reminded the audience that just a few days ago, an individual who murdered a police officer on behalf of the IRA was given a farewell with paramilitary honors, including the Irish national flag being draped over their coffin.

Fine Gael believes in maintaining law and order and is the political party that initiated the establishment of An Garda Síochána, which is the national police force in Ireland. Harris emphasized that the party is supportive of the uniformed officers, and prioritizes securing the streets and prohibiting any crimes from going unpunished. Harris expressed disappointment upon seeing the tricolor of the republic being used to drape the coffin of the murderer of a garda, and urged for reclaiming the flag.

Sinn Féin hasn't put much effort into criticizing Harris directly. Instead, they have been concentrating on defeating Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Greens, the third government party, in the European Parliament and local council elections which will be held in June.

Harris is faced with a pressing issue on deciding which Fine Gael ministers in the government to move around to remove esteemed veterans in exchange for new partners from the younger generation. For a fresh leader, it's challenging to confidently state that he is a catalyst of transformation when most of his present core members appear fatigued after commanding for 13 years.