And our award for Politician of the Year goes to...
... well, we're afraid you'll have to wait until our producer/barman counts the votes in accordance with PR-STV and reveals the winner at the end of the episode.The team — Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, Jane Matthews, and Sinéad O'Carroll — break out the non-alcoholic mulled wine and alcoholic mystery red cocktails and decide on the winners of The Candidate's 2024 Politics Awards.From Whoopsie of The Year to The Late Debate Debater Award, we look back on the year that was and look at the moments and people that really mattered.Thank you to everyone who tuned in to The Candidate over the past year. We'd love to hear any thoughts or suggestions you have on the podcast — just drop a message to [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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58:14
Well, that escalated quickly: the Eoin Hayes drama
We're now stuck in government formation purgatory amd struggling to keep track of which group-of-the-day is vying for a seat at the Cabinet table. There's also murmurings of who the next Ceann Comhairle could be (spoiler, it could be the same person as the previous two Dáil terms).But, on top of all of this, we have the Social Democrats facing their first real post-election headache. A link between Eoin Hayes, one of the party's recently elected TDs, and a company whose AI systems are by used by the Israel Defence Forces, emerged. But how damaging will it be to the party, or are people finding it hard to wrap their head around? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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34:10
How Stephen Donnelly went from firebrand independent to unseated minister
The general election is... over? And it's clear that the team have gone a little stir-crazy after a few too many hours in count centres.Christine Bohan, Christina Finn, and Sinéad O'Carroll sit down to look at the case of Stephen Donnelly, and how the Cabinet minister ended up losing his seat — there were some early warning signs that Fianna Fáil feared he was in trouble, and possibly because of a weak campaign on the ground.The team also chat about what exactly happened with the exit poll, and which Independents are waiting in the wings to prop up the next government?Also: Would you rather a duck with small feet to come at you or... sorry, we can't remember how this meme is meant to go. It's been a long week.Produced by Nicky Ryan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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37:27
Hutch's failed election bid raises so many questions about Irish politics
The media scrums in the RDS were growing bigger and bigger as the count went on... and then Gerald Hutch arrived.The gangland figure's failed election bid drew huge attention from national and international press, but has he achieved his ultimate aim? Could his unexpectedly strong performance shine a light on Dublin's north inner city and the reasons why people voted for him?With Christine Bohan and Sinéad O'Carroll in studio, and Christina Finn and Jane Matthews in the RDS, we look at the big headline talking points that are now coming out of the election results. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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30:02
Sinn Féin: great at elections, not so good at actually getting into government
It's all systems go: the votes have been cast, the exit polls revealed, the ballots separated, and the counting is now underway.A picture of general election 2024 is starting to come together piece-by-piece. Christine Bohan and Christina Finn (the latter joining us from a car park outside the Wicklow count centre) chat about the big talking points so far, and ask: is it really viable anymore for any party to rule out coalition with Sinn Féin? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.