With 15 days to go… what do we know now that we didn't know before it started… well... not a lot. One of the few things I think we can say for sure is that the voters are not yet fully engaged.

In my second GE2024 podcast I look at how the Soc Dem and Labour party leaders fared in their two media outgoings and observe that Paschal Donohoe uncharacteristically rose to the bait at the housing debate on RTÉ's Upfront with Katie Hannon.

The first of my (almost) daily series of short GE2024 podcasts looking at how the Irish general election campaign is playing out. If well begun is half done... then Fine Gael's campaign isn't even 5% done.

The morning after an appalling night before, I reflect on lessons from Trump's big win. I specifically look at his clear messaging that posed him as the voter's ally.

I only saw his "Kamala is for They/Them. President Trump is for you" messaging today. It's crisp, clear and direct and speaks to concerns middle America has about the country's direction.

These are my thoughts as we wait for the Irish general election to be called next week. TL;DR: I worry that many of the available options won’t resonate with voters. If I were in a different constituency I might examine my ballot paper and think: “None of the above” ...and I've voted Fianna Fáil 1, 2 and 3 at almost every election, ever.

Finally, here is the link to ⁠Stefan Müller⁠'s excellent Irish Polling Indicator project, which I reference several times in this podcast.

Though much of the political process speculation will focus on whether the election will be held in February 2025 or November 2024, I think it should instead look at why so many centrist and MoTR voters look at SF, FG and FF and say... none of the above.

This is my 7th annual Summer political reading list. Most of the books on this year’s list have been published within the past 12-18 months. All cover broadly political topics, or are (imho) of interest to those with an interest in politics, be it Irish, European, American or global. The choices are mine. I have read some, not all, but all are of interest to me.

In this episode I look at how pleased Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are pleased by each securing 23% of the votes of those who showed up… but point out that this is not necessarily a sign of greater things to come. That said, Fianna Fáil should celebrate its cohort of new Cllrs. See column on which this podcast is based.