Germany's mainstream political parties lost support while the far-right AfD gained ground in one of the last polls published before the election on Sunday, pointing to likely tricky coalition building that could drag on for months.

Voters in the EU’s largest country are set to go to the polls as US leaders threaten to withdraw military support from the continent, economic malaise lingers, and the far-right AfD gains ground. In this Viewsroom podcast,

Good morning. Germany’s pollsters are getting nervous about an election surprise. Ukrainian women step into tough jobs as men head to the front lines. And we check out some airport restaurants that will make you want to skip the frequent flier lounge.

If that happens,” sighs a cdu official, “we’re dead.” An ideologically messy three-party coalition could be a nightmare for Mr Merz’s hopes of restoring stability to German governance and predictability for Germany’s eu partners.

Germany's far-left Die Linke party has enjoyed a late poll surge ahead of Sunday's elections, boosted by a spirited anti-fascist speech by its new rising star that quickly went viral.