Inside Politics with Hugh Linehan

The US midterm elections are framed as a national verdict on the country’s direction and on Donald Trump’s presidency. This episode looks at whether Democrats can retake the House or even the Senate, and why key battleground races may still defy the polling.

Irish politics this week turns on RTÉ funding, Budget 2027, looming public sector industrial action and a fresh housing lobbying row. The episode weighs why Patrick O’Donovan’s late cut to RTÉ looks politically awkward, while Jack Chambers emerges with his standing strengthened.

Budget 2027 is framed as a bid to preserve Ireland’s political and economic stability through higher capital spending, higher day-to-day spending, and tax cuts. Hugh and Pat, joined by economist Barra Roantree, examine whether that approach is sustainable and wise.

Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor discuss their argument that Christian fundamentalists, tech billionaires and hardline ethnonationalists are converging around an apocalyptic politics. They explain why they use the term fascism and what resistance to this worldview might look like.

Ireland’s looming budget dominates this episode, with ministers reportedly battling over funding amid overspends, pay-deal tensions and the threat of industrial action. It also turns to the Garvaghy Road parade row and what it says about political divisions that remain unresolved.