There is now a meeting of minds between Trotskyist TD Paul Murphy and a once neo-Thatcherite Leo Varadkar.

Mr Murphy was elected as a TD for Dublin South-West in 2014

Javier Marías, Spain’s most celebrated living writer, has chronicled its long-deferred reckoning with its violent, fascist past, but is curiously indifferent to plans to rebury dictator Franco, writes Giles Harvey.

Voters have lost faith in FF and FG but after Friday’s ballots the left remains as far away from power in Ireland as it ever has been. Gary Murphy examines why this is the case.

Clare Daly believes that the EU is a neo-liberal body protecting big business — her bid for Europe intends to change all that. Juno McEnroe follows her on the campaign trail in Inchicore.

Sánchez seeks to build alliances but not a formal coalition as the Socialists win but fall short of an absolute majority, writes Caroline Gray

While the emergence of the anti-immigrant Vox movement is alarming, the possible outcomes of the election look benign, says Ferdinando Giugliano

A High Court judge has made directions aimed at progressing the hearing of actions by 491 Turkish workers over alleged underpayment of more than €40m in wages and benefits while working here on State contracts.

The Oireachtas committee on the Eighth Amendment has formally signed off on its landmark recommendations to repeal Article 40.3.3 of the Constitution, despite three members quitting the group and confirming that they will publish their own unofficial report next week.

The Oireachtas committee on the Eighth Amendment has formally signed off on its landmark recommendations to repeal Article 40.3.3 of the Constitution, despite three members quitting the group and confirming that they will publish their own unofficial report next week.

Latest: The president of Catalonia arranged and then hastily cancelled an official address today amid speculation that he might back off a full independence bid by calling a snap election.

Social democracy compromised across Europe, but the centre has swallowed it, writes Gerard Howlin.

Inside the Custom House, yesterday morning, were Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy, and the chief executives of the 31 local authorities, sitting around a boardroom table, writes Joyce Fegan.

Physical assault must be "strongly condemned", French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said, after an MP hit another politician with a motorcycle helmet in a violent fight.

A French politician has been detained after a fight with another politician, police officials said.

The road of the newly-acquitted Paul Murphy from his privileged past to the criminal courts has included its fair share of ups and downs.

Preliminary results show that Albania's left-wing Socialist party is heading for a new governing mandate in crucial elections in the country's bid to launch membership negotiations with the European Union.

The first round of parliamentary elections suggests the new president will get the majority needed to push through radical reforms, say Philippe Aghion and Benedicte Berner.

Here's your lunchtime news bulletin.

Liberals have taken heart from Emmanuel Macron’s early showing in the French presidential elections, but they shouldn’t get carried away, writes Mark J Roe.

France is at the forefront of a global movement away from traditional politics and towards individuals free from party ties, writes John Lloyd.

If the the far-right Marine Le Pen and the independent centrist Emmanuel Macron square off in the second round of the presidential election, it will be a first in 60 years, says Zaki Laïdi.         

Fine Gael has seen a significant increase in support according to a new opinion poll, returning to the position of being the most popular party in the country.

The State’s ethics watchdog has said it is “unreasonable” for small political parties to fully audit their accounts, after the first report on what organisations received and spent for 2015.

Situated in the townland of Ardmore on the outskirts of Lispole on the Dingle Peninsula, a 47-acre farm seems to be ticking the right boxes for a number of interested parties.

Former Minister Conor Lenihan has been criticised for referring to Savita Halappanavar as “that Indian lady” during a recording of a debate for BBC radio.

Spain's Parliament has voted to approve acting prime minister Mariano Rajoy's bid to form a new minority government, putting an end to the country's 10-month political deadlock.

IF YOU live in Cork, Limerick, or Galway and think the Dublin Bus strike doesn’t affect you; fear not, it will, writes Gerard Howlin. 

Spain's conservative Popular Party has signed a deal with the business-friendly Ciudadanos party that could pave the way for the formation of a new government and avert a possible third round of elections.

Your letters, your views...

If you were to believe the body politic, Irish Water is the most evil thing since Hitler and the SS. All the parties, especially Fianna Fáil, which introduced water charges in 2010, have sold out their principles for populism, writes Special Correspondent Michael Clifford

The co-option of an Anti-Austerity Alliance (AAA) member onto Cork City Council was dramatically deferred last night after a challenge emerged.

Anti-water charge campaigners will protest outside the Fianna Fáil leader’s constituency office today in the first of a series of protests designed to hold politicians to account on their pre-election promises.

French economic growth this year will fall short of the 1.5% economists say is the minimum needed to lower persistently high unemployment, the country’s central bank governor has said.

An Anti-Austerity Alliance/People Before Profit candidate who seems set for the Dáil has dismissed Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil's concerns about forming a coalition.

A majority of Spaniards would favour a coalition government led by the Socialist party and market-friendly newcomer Ciudadanos, according to a poll published by El País yesterday as Spain’s political deadlock continues.

IF the Oireachtas Banking Inquiry proves anything it proves that we need another referendum.

The multimillion-euro cross-party Oireachtas bank inquiry report is set to be published this afternoon, before its findings are immediately called into question by two of its own members.