Inside Politics with Hugh Linehan

Journalist Sophie Pedder is the Paris bureau chief of the Economist, writing about French politics and economics. The author of “Revolution Française: Emmanuel Macron and the Quest to Reinvent a Nation”, she talks to Hugh about who Macron really is and what it is that drives his politics. Sophie will be at the Dalkey Book Festival June 15th and 16th to discuss Macron and the role of modern media in the era of fake news. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the dust begins to settle on the local and European elections, we look at why, not for the first time, an exit poll was wide of the mark and whether that’s a cause for concern. We also look at the state of the left and whether disappointing results for Sinn Féin and People Before Profit are an indication that the politics of protest has dried up post-austerity. Plus - Nobody has ever said an electoral commission is a bad idea. So, why hasn’t it happened yet?Guests: Fintan O’Toole joins Hugh, Jennifer Bray and Harry McGee. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fiach Kelly, Pat Leahy and Jennifer Bray join Hugh to talk about all the results we have so far from the weekend's local and European elections. What is behind Sinn Féin's slump? Could good news for Fianna Fáil in Dublin foretell a return to power for the party? Will anything come from talk of a Green-left alliance at the next general election? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As voters go to the polls in 28 countries this weekend to select the new European Parliament, the expectation is of a significant surge in support for populist parties, from La Lega in Italy to Alternative für Deutschland in Germany. But what do we mean when we describe a political party as populist? Hugh talks to Jan-Werner Müller, professor of politics at Princeton University and author of the 2016 book, What is Populism? Jan-Werner was in Dublin to address the Institute of International and European Affairs on how modern democracies can combat what he sees as a threat to democratic norms and liberties. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A 'climate emergency' has been declared in Dáil Éireann, and green issues are coming up on the doorsteps in this election campaign, putting pressure on our politicians from below to take the problem seriously. But even if they do, and even if the predicted 'Green wave' materialises, is our system really capable of tackling a problem the size of climate change? To discuss, Hugh and Fiach are joined by Gavin Daly of the European Spatial Planning Observatory Network and Sadhbh O'Neill, a former Green party councillor, PhD candidate in political philosophy and lecturer in environmental politics at the School of Politics and International Relations at UCD.But first Hugh and Fiach discuss the latest news from the local and European election campaigns. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To talk about what has been a rather low-key EU election campaign so far, Hugh is joined by Pat Leahy, Fiach Kelly and Jennifer Bray. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

They are powerless, frustrated, underpaid and too often reviled by their constituents. Many local councillors have spoken out about how unattractive the role has become. Today we talk to two young, promising sitting councillors, Fianna Fáil's Frank Kennedy of Dublin City Council and Labour's Grace Tallon of Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown, about why they are not running for reelection in #LE2019. The Irish Times Dublin correspondent and council-watcher Olivia Kelly is also here with her analysis of what's going wrong in the DCC chamber. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At the age of 76, Bob Woodward has now covered nine different American presidents. That's 20% of all presidents from George Washington to Donald Trump. Most famously he contributed to the downfall of one, Richard Nixon, with his reporting on the Watergate scandal. Fear: Trump in the White House is published by Simon and Schuster. A public conversation with Bob Woodward on the state of the US presidency, moderated by Fintan O’Toole, will take place in the Olympia Theatre, Dublin, on Monday, June 10th Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's Irish Times / Ipsos MRBI poll is actually three polls, with one conducted in each of our three European parliament constituencies: Dublin, Midlands-North-West and South. It gives us the first look on a candidate-by-candidate basis at who is winning the battle for European Parliament seats. If the numbers are right, we're in for some extremely close races.Political Editor Pat Leahy is here to explain the poll and its findings. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's the topic none of you has been asking us to cover: the forthcoming plebiscites in Limerick, Cork and Waterford to see if those cities should have a directly-elected mayor. On the ground, journalist Patrick Freyne has found a total lack of knowledge of or engagement with the issue among voters. Has this process been designed to fail? Hugh and Pat are also joined by DCU's Jane Suiter to discuss the presence of right-wing populist candidates on the European ballot papers. And finally the panel worries about the future take-up of budget-busting rural broadband in the mistiest corners of Ireland and questions the wisdom of deciding on €3bn project spends right before an election. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.