Between 1997 and 2011, Fianna Fail was clearly the dominant force on the Irish political scene.

Yet the 2011 election saw the party now led by Micheal Martin reach its nadir, as they suffered the worst defeat of any governing party in the history of the Irish state and one of the worst electoral losses of any incumbent party in Europe.

Yet the latest polls put Fianna Fail neck and neck with Fine Gael at the top with 26 per cent for the first time since 2008.

It may be a surprise, but the trend in Europe shows that the parties in power around the time of the financial crisis of 2008, are bouncing back.

In Iceland, the Independence Party which had ruled for 18 years, was cast aside in 2009 after presiding over the 2008 financial collapse, while the then-Prime Minister Geir Haarde was put on trial.

Yet the party picked up the most votes in last month's parliamentary elections with 26 per cent of the ballot.

Similarly New Democracy in Greece suffered a landslide defeat in 2009, before winning the most votes last May to be given the right to form a grand coalition.

Meanwhile, the UK Labour Party, the Danish Liberal Party and Portugal's Socialist Party are currently poll toppers despite electoral defeat in recent years.

In the map below the green dots signify countries in which the incumbent party remained in power or has returned to power. Yellow denotes parties that are now junior members of coalitions, while red shows parties which are topping the polls despite electoral defeats in recent years.

View European incumbent parties since financial crisis in a larger map