Apparently, no one is immune to the charms of Kylie Minogue, including the Prime Minister of Ireland. Last night, after blocking multiple freedom of information requests, the Taoiseach’s Department allowed a letter that Leo Varadkar hand wrote to the superstar last year to be printed in full – and it’s really, really good. Not only does Varadkar identify himself as a “huge fan!” on official letterhead stationary, he also requests a meeting before her concert in October last year. The kicker? He signs off with his name – followed by Irish Prime Minister in parentheses, in case she needed reminding who he was.
“Just wanted to drop you a short note in advance of the concert in Dublin. I am really looking forward to it,” he writes. “Am a huge fan! I understand you are staying in the Merrion Hotel which is just across the street from my office in Government Buildings. If you like, I’d love to welcome you to Ireland personally.” In case you were wondering what came of his request, Minogue had to cancel her performance in Dublin due to a throat infection. However, Varadkar did manage to catch her when she rescheduled the gig in December – and lived out his dreams, taking a photo backstage with the Australian icon.
The letter and its contents have elicited mixed reactions from the all-powerful Internet – with numerous people calling it demeaning to his station and others revelling in it. My key thoughts? If you’re a Kylie lover, you’re a Kylie lover, whether you’re an everyday citizen or a world leader – and, frankly, I would rather have a celebrity fan than an actual celebrity in office. Someone who loses it over “Can’t Get You Out Of My Head” and keeps it together on the world stage is a lot less dangerous than someone who acts “professionally” in their downtime and goes ballistic in the middle of political negotiations.
Besides, surely it’s time to allow politicians a degree of humanity – for our good as much as theirs? Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said it best when she posted on Instagram about taking a “self-care” break at the end of last year. “I keep things raw and honest here with you all since I believe public servants do a disservice to our communities by pretending to be perfect,” she wrote. “It makes things harder for others who aspire to run someday if they think they have to be superhuman before they try.” And what, I ask you, could be more “human” than doing the locomotion?
