Reality check: Leo Varadkar's downfall shows dangers of politics driven by symbolism

Leo Varadkar made his name with a referendum, and further built his stature as Taoiseach (prime minister of Ireland) with another..

But in a wider European context, where Hungary's Viktor Orban made a speech in 2022 against 'race-mixing', Ireland's easy acceptance of Varadkar was significant...

This is what accounts for socially conservative language in the 1937 Constitution declaring the Family, based on Marriage, as fundamental to society, and the role of women, as mothers at home, as important for the 'common good' of the state..

The Constitution's socially conservative language was out of touch with modern Ireland, where the role of the Church is diminished, marriage rates are falling and women no longer feel tied to the home..

But in practical terms, the referendum seemed to driven by symbolic rather than practical concerns - and the suspicion that Varadkar was trying to divert attention from domestic issues...

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