Irritations after Kyiv trip: Merz wants to involve Italy more closely in the Ukraine war

Chancellor Merz traveled to Rome for the inauguration of the new pope. There, he also met with Prime Minister Meloni. For the CDU leader, Italy is an "indispensable strategic partner" that should also become more involved in the Ukraine conflict.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has advocated for closer involvement of Italy in European efforts to end the war in Ukraine. After a meeting with right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome that evening, Merz said: "We agreed that Italy must play a role here." Merz announced that he would hold talks with other European partners on this issue in the coming days. "We must not allow ourselves to be divided within the European Union. There are no first- or second-class members."

In Italy, it caused irritation that Meloni was not present at a recent visit to Kyiv by heads of state and government from France, Great Britain, Poland, and Germany. According to media reports, this was at the urging of French President Emmanuel Macron. Meloni said – without naming names – that now might be the moment to "abandon personal sensitivities that threaten to undermine the so important and fundamental unity of the West." Meloni's non-partisan predecessor, Mario Draghi, was present on an earlier trip to Kyiv.

Merz described Italy, governed by a coalition of three right-wing and conservative parties since 2022, as an "indispensable strategic partner." The Chancellor denied a report that Italy, at the insistence of the SPD, was not mentioned in the coalition agreement of the new federal government. "All the reports about this are false." He added that "at no point in time did there take place any contentious discussion about Italy's role in the European Union" among the main negotiators.

The CDU chairman is in Rome for the inauguration of the new Pope Leo XIV. State guests from approximately 150 countries are expected to attend on Sunday. The current Cardinal, Robert Francis Prevost, was elected on May 8th to succeed Pope Francis as the new leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics.