Mr Varadkar has adopted former Westminster MP Mark Durkan into his Fine Gael party in the hope the Northern Irish politician will win a Brussels seat representing Dublin. Mr Durkan sat in the House of Commons as Member of Parliament for Foyle for 12 years, losing his seat to Sinn Fein in the 2017 General Election, and served as leader of Belfast’s Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) from 2001 to 2010. The 58-year-old also sat in the Stormont assembly for 12 years but has now set his eyes on the European Parliament as MEP for Dublin.
Mr Durkan acknowledged the shock of a former Westminster party leader standing for an Irish Republic party but said he hopes Dubliners will back him so the people of Northern Ireland can still have representation in the European Union after Brexit.
The former deputy first minister of Northern Ireland said he understood “this is a big ask of the people of Dublin” but added he hopes May 24 will be a “green jersey day”.
Mr Durkan called for “a strong turnout to send a message to Brexiteers that the Irish people as a whole value the EU in a fundamental way”.
He said: “The Taoiseach has followed through on the public promise he made which was that Irish citizens in the North would not be left behind.”
Mr Varadkar promised northern nationalists who are campaigning for a united Ireland that they would “never again be left behind by an Irish government” when the initial agreement on the backstop was reached.
He made the comment in December 2017 during an early stage in the Brexit negotiations and followed up his pledge by urging Dubliners to back the surprise new candidate.
Unveiling Mr Durkan, Leo Vardakar indicated Dublin voters should treat the May election like a referendum on reunification.
Mr Varadkar said: “At this point in time, as Brexit continues to present enormous challenges, we need a place to hear people like Mark Durkan and that place is in the European Parliament.
“Instead of a border poll, I’m asking the people of Dublin to cast a more important vote, to vote on the May 24 as if there was no border and to elect somebody who has served both parts of our island in the past and has much more to offer in the years ahead.
“I don’t want the people of Northern Ireland, especially the hundreds of thousands of people who exercise their Irish citizenship and their European citizenship to have no representation in Europe. I don’t want them ever left behind again.”
Mr Durkan conceded he is not “on top of all the issues” affecting Dubliners and admitted he would continue to live in Derry, Northern Ireland even if he was elected to represent Dublin.
However he said he would maintain a full-time Dublin office and praised Fine Gael for allowing him into the party even though he was still an SDLP member in his heart.
Mr Durkan said: “I might wear a Fine Gael vest in this election but everyone will see an SDLP jersey underneath.
“I can’t hide that and it is to Fine Gael’s credit that they can respect that and accept those terms.”
The Irish capital is one of two constituencies in Ireland to gain an extra seat in Strasbourg from the UK because of Brexit.
The constituency has increased from three seats to four and Mr Durkan is Fine Gael’s second candidate for the city.
He will stand alongside former Tanaiste, Ireland’s deputy prime minister, Frances Fitzgerald.
The pair are the only two candidates before Fine Gael’s selection convention at Clontarf Castle in Dublin on Wednesday evening.
Mr Durkan’s candidacy became possible after Brian Hayes, Fine Gael’s incumbent Dublin MEP, announced last year that he would not seek re-election because he wanted to leave politics and take up a role with the Irish Banking and Payments Federation.
