Germany's conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz, frontrunner in polls to become the next chancellor, on Tuesday urged a united European stance in talks with US President Donald Trump. Merz also said Germany needed to get Poland "at the table as fast as possible" and praised Meloni of the post-fascist Brothers of Italy party,

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday that he met with German opposition leader Friedrich Merz, just weeks before a federal election in Germany.

Germany's election frontrunner says Europeans are waiting for Germany to take the lead on dealing with the new American president.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has met in the German Bundestag with Friedrich Merz, the leader of the German opposition and the CDU/CSU (Union) parliamentary group, as well as a candidate for the next chancellor of Germany.