Podcast: Coveney’s Rent Gambit, Kenny’s Calculus

Did Housing Minister Simon Coveney display political naiveté or nous by keeping Fianna Fáil and his cabinet colleagues in the dark about his rental reform package?

Will Enda Kenny get to meet the Pope in Ireland in 2018 as Fine Gael leader?

And will this government live to see another budget?

On this week's Inside Politics podcast, Irish Times political editor Pat Leahy talked with Michael O'Regan, Fiach Kelly and Sarah Bardon from The Irish Times political team about six months of 'new politics'.

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Reacting to Simon Coveney’s rental package announced this week, Sarah Bardon says it was an unwise move by the housing minister to keep the details hidden from his cabinet colleagues until Monday night.

Michael O’Regan disagrees. The move shows “political clout”, says Michael, and shows Coveney has begun positioning himself for a future Fine Gael leadership struggle.

That will not be until after the Taoiseach has welcomed Pope Francis to Ireland as Fine Gael leader, says O'Regan, while Fiach Kelly says that might not be good news for Leo Varadkar. He said some of the sheen has begun to fade on the Social Protection Minister and the longer the Taoiseach stays on as leader of the party, the more likely it is that Coveney will become a more attractive candidate for the job.