Ireland's Simon Harris poised to become prime minister

Irish Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris, attends a banquet at Belfast City Hall, as part of the events of a three-day international conference at Queen's University Belfast to mark the 25th anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, April 17, 2023. Niall Carson/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

DUBLIN (Reuters) -Ireland's Simon Harris, a 37-year-old politician best known for helping steer the country's response to COVID-19, entered the contest to become its prime minister on Thursday following Leo Varadkar's shock exit.

Harris, currently the only candidate in the race, will become Ireland's youngest prime minister if he succeeds. He will also have no more than a year to save his party from defeat at a general election that could see the nationalist Sinn Fein party replace it as the lead party in government.