# Powder keg Politics and Protests

An episode of [Path to Power](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1704136068), 18 Apr 2026, 1 h 04 min.

Audio: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/64e71f8052944300110032b0/e/69e1e7a4d2febdbec984715e/media.mp3

Former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and former political correspondent Áine Kerr join Matt to analyse the politics of the past fortnight, dominated by the diesel protests. They look at Jim O’Callaghan’s use of the army, Patrick O’Donovan’s aborted assault on the media, and what the protests tell us about the rural-urban divide. The resignation of Junior Minister Michael Healy-Rae. How the opposition parties behaved during the protests. The Fianna Fáil youthful backbencher revolt. Dáil member behaviour towards and overall decorum. And Trump and the Pope. Brought to you by The Greenman Group. PTP+ To enjoy early access, ad-free listening and weekly bonus episodes, sign up at pathtopowerpodcast.com Get in touch: mail@pathtopowerpodcast.com Follow Matt: https://twitter.com/cooper_m https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-cooper-615a1317 https://www.instagram.com/mattcooperlastword/ Brought to you by The Greenman Group. PTP+ To enjoy early access, ad-free listening, and weekly bonus episodes, sign up at pathtopowerpodcast.com Get in touch: mail@pathtopowerpodcast.com Follow Matt: https://twitter.com/cooper_m https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-cooper-615a1317 https://www.instagram.com/mattcooperlastword/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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