Brexit Hands Ireland’s Varadkar the Test of a Lifetime. Will He Blink?
- Most officials who know the young leader say he won’t flinch
- Some see a growing nervousness as cliffhanger Brexit nears
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Will Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar blink in the battle over the backstop?
As the Brexit cliff edge nears, the 40-year-old faces a dilemma: sticking with the proposal that could propel the U.K. out of the European Union on March 29 without a deal would create the very thing it’s meant to avoid -- a hard border in Ireland. So far, Varadkar is resisting Prime Minister Theresa May’s demands for a time limit on the backstop or a unilateral exit clause.