Pat Leahy and Harry McGee join Hugh Linehan on today’s Inside Politics podcast to discuss the week in politics:

· The panel started by teasing out the convoluted and somewhat undemocratic Seanad election process. Is it better to be on the inside or the outside panel? And how important is it for nominees to possess sufficient qualifications?

· Does Sinn Féin need to change its message and personnel after so long in opposition? Could it be time for a reshuffle despite the party’s strength in areas like housing and finance?

· The decision on who will be the third leg of the next government edges ever closer, with Independent Ireland, the Regional Independent Group and the Healy-Rae brothers all still in contention. But what kind of ministries are in the offing?

· And speaking at the BT Young Scientist Exhibition, President Michael D Higgins described Nato’s call for increased military spending as ‘appalling’. Will his frequent comments on international affairs set a precedent for his successor?

Plus, the panel pick their favourite Irish Times articles of the week, on Elon Musk and the AfD, Justin Trudeau’s legacy, and planning refusal for 900 apartments in Dundrum.

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Government formation talks have ramped up since Christmas. What are the key points being discussed between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail? And what demands are Independent TDs making for their cooperation? Jack Horgan-Jones and Pat Leahy join Hugh Linehan on today's Inside Politics podcast to talk through everything that has happened so far in the process that will determine much of the politics of the next five years.

In part two the panellists forecast some of the issues that will impact politics in 2025, from law and order to the presidency of Donald Trump.

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In case you missed it: in 2023 Hugh spoke to American historian Gary Gerstle about his book The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order. Neoliberalism means different things to different people. As a set of economic policies it is mainly associated with reducing state intervention in commerce and society. In the course of its late 20th century heyday, neoliberalism transformed the world - for better or worse. But now its dominance is challenged by different models, such as the authoritarian capitalism of China.

In his book Gary looks at how neoliberalism took hold, how it shaped society in the United States and beyond, and what its decline means.

Gary Gerstle is Paul Mellon Professor of American History Emeritus and Paul Mellon Director of Research at the University of Cambridge.

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