Giuseppe Conte won plaudits for calm handling of first wave, but the mood has changed

US politics: Range of presidential hopefuls is sign of party weakness – not strength

Split from Democratic Party shifts balance of power in two-week-old coalition government

Leader of centre-left PD party Nicola Zingaretti may yet relent and support rival

Dublin’s Iseq share index has fallen 6.6% in seven weeks, leaving it the third worst-performing equity market since July

Matteo Salvini attracts criticism for push to capitalise on opinion polls in new election

Ex-Italian PM believes Di Maio and Matteo Salvini will burn out and looks to Macron

TPP is a wide-ranging trade agreement between 11 Pacific countries, including Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Canada, Mexico and Australia

In less than a month he has upended his country’s policies on migration and asylum

Italy has the largest absolute debt load of any EU country, and the third largest in the world

PM Giuseppe Conte has pledged to cut taxes, boost welfare spend and overhaul some EU rules

Newspapers report New York University had no record of Giuseppe Conte ever attending

New election looms after former PM knocks partnership with populist Five Star Movement

Talks begin but could take weeks and still end in deadlock, prolonging instability

Italian party commits to staying in opposition after former prime minister stands down

New name will remove ‘psychological brake’ for voters, Front National leader tells congress

The contest of ideas in Europe is far from over and the centre-left can take heart from the essential relevance of its message

Relief that a coalition deal has been struck in Berlin will be tempered by low expectations for the incoming government

Both Five Star and alliance of centre-right and right claim status of largest party

Widespread anger over poverty, unemployment and migrants hits Democratic Party