Simon Harris says he never expected to be putting his name forward to become the next leader of Fine Gael this week.
Leo Varadkar unexpectedly announced on Wednesday that he was stepping down.
The Higher Education Minister confirmed his intention to run to be the next leader of the party last night and has already been endorsed by the majority of the parliamentary party - meaning he will likely be the sole candidate and the next taoiseach.
Simon Harris says, while he has always had ambition, the events of this week came as a complete shock:
"Of course, I took the time to reflect with my family and my friends on my own team is to come as a shock. It's no secret that I have ambition. But certainly this wasn't the way I expected things to develop and 48 hours ago I was sitting at home not thinking I'd be talking to you about the leadership of Fine Gael."
