Now may be the time for Varadkar to take the leap

The success of the referendum may encourage the Taoiseach to dissolve this dysfunctional government and seek a firmer mandate

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Fine Gael colleagues ahead of the referendum. It took courage to tackle the thorniest social issue in Irish politics for four decades

Oscar Wilde said that he could “resist everything except temptation”. The Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, will be sorely tempted this weekend to take the opportunity to put this government out of its misery and go to the country for a firmer mandate. To say that the government is frayed at the edges is to understate it. But the success of the referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution is a landmark achievement.