Irish citizens go to the polls tomorrow to choose a new government, and the outcome is far from certain. The incumbent centrist coalition, led by Taoiseach Simon Harris, had looked poised to remain in power, but with no party having "fielded enough to win a majority" and the prospect of a higher than usual turnout for independent candidates, there is everything to play for, said Sky News.

What did the commentators say?
This "peculiarly Irish race" favours Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, the parties that have "produced every prime minister" since 1922, said at Politico. Sinn Féin has "gained momentum", said The Washington Post, but the two big parties' wariness of its "leftist policies and historic links to the Irish Republican Army" means it has "limited" coalition options.

All three parties are likely to feel the heat of some voters "turning on them" in favour of one of "several smaller parties" and an "assortment of independents", who have all taken up positions away from the centre ground, said The Guardian. Sinn Féin, in particular, is being "stung by the anti-immigrant sentiment", which has seen some of its base "peeling away" to independent and fringe candidates, said The New York Times. For Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, there's likely to be a backlash over their perceived lack of answers to the housing crisis, "among the main concerns of voters", said The Irish Times.

What next?
The most probable outcome is a Fine Gael/Fianna Fáil coalition, in tandem with a smaller party. All the independents together "could get up to a fifth of the vote", said Melanie McDonagh in The Spectator, and any conservative independents who sign up with a Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael coalition "may be the tail to wag the government dog".

Whoever emerges victorious will have a slew of issues to deal with. As well as the housing crisis, healthcare funding and the "hot-button" issue of immigration, high prices and the cost of living remain "a key concern", said The Guardian.

This week's announcement of plans to close a Vauxhall van factory in Luton underlines the UK's ongoing struggle with the transition to electric vehicles. Car manufacturers face fines if they don't comply with yearly EV sales targets towards a goal of 100% zero emission vehicle sales by 2030, but private motorists "are refusing to play ball with the government's targets", said The Spectator.

What are the zero emission targets?
The government's zero emission vehicle mandate sets incremental benchmarks, requiring car manufacturers to sell set percentages of EVs in each year leading up to a total phasing out of petrol and diesel. For instance, in 2025 28% of new cars and 16% of new vans sold must be zero emission, and makers must pay a fine of £15,000 for each non-compliant car and £18,000 for each non-compliant van beyond that benchmark.

How is this affecting carmakers?
Poor demand for EVs means manufacturers have struggled to meet the government's targets and some have "slashed the costs of some of their EVs by as much as 35%" to avoid fines, said the Daily Mail. Car firms are taking an estimated £4 billion hit to make discounts, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders told the paper, and it "has warned that the mandate will have 'devastating impacts'" on businesses and jobs.

"We need government-backed incentives to urgently boost the uptake of electric vehicles," Ford UK's managing director Lisa Brankin told the BBC. Without demand, the EV mandate "just won't work".

What's the government response?
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds told car manufacturers he is ''profoundly concerned" about progress towards the target, saying policies do not appear to be "operating today in a way anyone intended them to".

Quentin Wilson, journalist and former "Top Gear" presenter, told the Daily Mail that the government needs to spend more on customer incentives, such as electric chargers and free parking for EVs, if it continues to impose fines on manufacturers. "What the government must do is to make it easier for consumers to buy these cars," he said.

Book lovers will have plenty of opportunities to meet their favourite authors, and discover new and upcoming writers, at literary festivals across the country next year.

Hay Festival, Powys
One of the world's biggest and best literary festivals takes place in the beautiful small town of Hay-on-Wye, Wales. Each year, over the course of 11 days, more than 300,000 visitors attend the events featuring globally renowned writers, musicians, comedians and poets.
hayfestival.com, 22 May-1 June

Edinburgh International Book Festival
Every summer, the Scottish capital's book festival brings together top authors to foster debate, challenge perspectives and promote active learning. Last year, the festival included over 500 events, ranging in topic from AI to migration, and featured legendary thinkers such as Margaret Atwood and Salman Rushdie.
edbookfest.co.uk, 9-24 August

Henley Literary Festival, Oxfordshire
Authors will return to Henley-on-Thames in the autumn to highlight great literature. Attendees can choose from a selection of conversations, talks, performances and workshops. The 2024 line-up included the likes of Rick Stein, Michael Palin and Julia Donaldson.
henleyliteraryfestival.co.uk, 4-12 October

Cheltenham Literature Festival, Gloucestershire
First held in 1949, this annual celebration of books is the world's longest-running literary festival and welcomes more than 100,000 visitors each year. From newcomers to legends, the line-up brings together the best voices in literature and entertainment: this year, speakers included David Nicholls, Ian Rankin, Judi Dench and Lionel Shriver.
cheltenhamfestivals.org, 10-19 October

Trump is the last chance to save the decaying West from terminal decline
Allister Heath in The Telegraph
Donald Trump is "far from perfect", but he's the West's "unlikeliest of saviours", writes Allister Heath. His commitment to "slashing taxes and pursuing radical deregulation" might jolt Britain and Europe out of our "socialistic stupor" by "demonstrating an alternative" to Britain's "Gaia-worshipping, soft on crime, quasi-open borders, pro-appeasement politics". He will "make mistakes, and won't be right on everything" but he might "transform not merely America but also global and British politics, very much for the better".

Conor McGregor's fiancée has sent the wrong message to her sons
Rosy Edwards in Metro
After her fiancé Conor McGregor was found guilty of rape last week, Dee Devlin said she would "warn" her sons about "women like" his accuser, writes Rosy Edwards, "perpetuating the dangerous, harmful myth" that men are "at the mercy of conniving women". False claims of rape are "vanishingly rare", and "if you want to warn the men in your life of anything", it should be that women are "increasingly refusing to accept rape" as "part of life".

The ceasefire in Lebanon will not last long
Belén Fernández on Al Jazeera
"Those familiar with Israel's modus operandi" could "sense the imminence of a ceasefire in Lebanon" the day before, when Israel unleashed a "sadistic pounding of residential areas", writes Belén Fernández. Given Israel's "track record of violating regional ceasefires and then blaming the violation on the opposing party" to justify "mass bloodshed", we can "safely assume" that it will start bombing again "whenever it decides it is up for another round in Lebanon".