The Irish parliament on Thursday backed Micheal Martin to become the country's next taoiseach or prime minister, a day after a bitter row had delayed the vote.

Ireland’s parliament has succeeded in electing Micheál Martin as Taoiseach after a delay caused by unprecedented chaos in the chamber, kicking off a new government bracing for US trade challenges. The centrist Fianna Fáil leader’s coalition is preparing an “all-out diplomatic and trade offensive” to persuade US President Donald Trump to back off from his tax and tariff threats against the EU country where many large US technology and pharmaceutical companies are based.