BERLIN (Reuters) - Angela Merkel sought advice from the pope on dealing with Donald Trump when he was first elected U.S. president, hoping to find ways of convincing a man she saw as having a property developer's winner-or-loser mentality not to quit the Paris climate accords.

I sat in the front row and could closely observe Putin during his speech. He spoke quickly, sometimes freely, likely having written most, if not every word himself,” she describes. Merkel was particularly irritated by Putin’s self-confidence,