Inside Politics with Hugh Linehan

"Once taboos are broken, it's quite hard to reinstate them".A German court ruling challenging the primacy of European Court of Justice in EU matters poses a threat to the EU that even it can't fudge. The case hinged on the right of the European Central Bank to engage in bond-buying to support the EU economy. The top German court has ruled that the ECB hasn't sufficiently explained why the measures are necessary. But more importantly, it also ruled that its view is supreme over the ruling of the top European court, the ECJ. Among other problems, this could undermine attempts to rein in member states like Poland and Hungary that are challenging the EU's political norms. To explain how the ruling does this and why it matters, Hugh talks to Ronan McCrea, professor of constitutional and European law at University College London. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A move to challenge Eamon Ryan as Green leader is under way among a cohort within the party, with deputy leader Catherine Martin being urged to stand against him. That's the first topic on today's podcast with Irish Times politics team Pat Leahy, Jennifer Bray and Harry McGee which also takes in government formation talks, a strange spat between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, the first hearing of the Covid-19 committee and how politics will handle the pressure to return public life to normality. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's been a difficult path for Eamon Ryan and the Green Party since the dark period following 2011, when the party lost all its seats and state funding. His stewardship of the party has earned him respect, particularly among the old guard. But do the fast-growing Greens' new recruits give him the same credit? Fiach Kelly writes about Ryan in this weekend's edition of The Irish Times and here he talks to Hugh about Ryan's leadership style and his party's difficult return to the government negotiating table. They also talk about how a relationship between the Greens, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael might work.This weekend's edition of The Irish Times features a series of articles about Green politics. You can read them all on irishtimes.com - or pick up a copy of the paper in your local newsagent. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Different countries are taking different approaches at different speeds as they move to reopen their economies. London Editor Denis Staunton and Berlin Correspondent Derek Scally talk to Hugh Linehan about the politics of pandemic in the UK and Germany respectively. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As Ireland moves into the next, more complex phase of the Covid-19 pandemic, how can we hold the authorities to account? Is the current government being transparent enough about the decisions it is making and the rationale which underpins them? What happens when a new government is finally formed? And how well is the media covering the crisis? Hugh Linehan talks to columnist Fintan O’Toole and political editor Pat Leahy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Green Party has demanded that any government it joins implements cuts of 7 per cent each year to our national carbon emissions. Where does that figure come from, and is it achievable? We ask climate researcher Hannah Daly. Then Fiach Kelly explains how the overtures from Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are going down with the Greens, and what we know about plans to ease the Coronavirus lockdown.Dr Hannah Daly lectures in energy systems modelling at University College Cork. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Phillipe Sands is a barrister, author and broadcaster. His new book The Ratline tells the story of Nazi war criminal and fugitive Otto Wachter, about whom Sands has already produced a popular podcast, also called The Ratline, for the BBC. Sands talks to Hugh about how he encountered Wachter's son, the nature of evil and the remembrance of the Holocaust. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week the Government published the worst economic projections since the financial crisis of 2008-11. Finance minister, Paschal Donohue, issued a bleak warning that Ireland is now in “severe recession”. How will the next government deal with the economic and fiscal challenges that lie ahead? Is there anything in the joint framework from Fine Gael and Fine Fail that can weather the storm? Michael Taft, a researcher for SIPTU and the man behind the blog ‘Notes on the Front’ joins Hugh and Pat to discuss the structural reforms and measures needed to grow the economy and control the national debt. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael's historic agreement to form a government together didn't make much of a splash among the distracted public. There are difficult decisions ahead, but no sign of them in the joint framework document that accompanied the agreement. Will a smaller party bet on going into government with FF and FG in a time of unprecedented uncertainty? And can Sinn Féin be ignored for much longer? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today Hugh talks to American journalist Clare Malone about the upending of US politics in an election year by the outbreak of Covid-19. Clare is senior political writer with FiveThirtyEight, a data-driven politics and sports website. She is also a regular on the popular FiveThirtyEight politics podcast. They talk about the response of the Trump administration to the outbreak, the potential impact of the virus on voting in November, rampant gerrymandering in some American states, and the strengths of presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.