Could the fiery exchange between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on Friday, February 28, concerning conditions for peace in Ukraine, speed up the formation of a government in Berlin? Five days after parliamentary elections on February 23, the leaders of the two political parties in talks to form a coalition – Friedrich Merz, president of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and likely future chancellor, and Lars Klingbeil, leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) – each reaffirmed their willingness to act quickly to strengthen European security and step up support for Ukraine. The power vacuum in Berlin, since the break-up of the coalition in November, is considerably weakening Germany's position at a critical time for Europe.

"The behavior of the American government proves once again that Europe most take its future into its own hands (...) Germany must and will forge ahead," said the SPD's Klingbeil on X on Friday evening. A few hours earlier, in an interview with the Sunday edition of daily FAZ, Merz announced his intention to negotiate, with France, the United Kingdom and other European partners, the conditions for a European nuclear deterrent system.

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