Germany's government has made an unusual move: it added language about fighting far-right extremism to its official Sustainable Development Strategy. This document normally focuses on climate, biodiversity, and money matters. That it now also tackles extremism shows how much the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has changed what the government cares about.

The change happened fast. In January 2024, the AfD was seen as a protest party. By September, it won a state election—the first time a far-right party has won such a race in Germany since World War II. By February 2025, it had become the second-largest party in parliament, with one in five voters choosing it. That is historic and alarming to the political establishment.

German leaders responded loudly. Former Chancellor Scholz compared the AfD to the Nazi era and called for voters to reject it. By January 2025, he said Elon Musk's public support for the party was "completely unacceptable." A week later, Scholz even criticized a top American official—Vice President JD Vance—for defending free speech for far-right voices. That was unusual for a German leader.

Then the government itself fell apart. Scholz fired his finance minister, which ended the coalition. New elections happened in February 2025. Friedrich Merz's conservative party won, but it did not feel like a victory—people were gloomy about the economy and the direction of the country. Before those elections, Merz's party had done something shocking: they voted with the AfD to pass a law restricting immigration. This broke a rule that had held since World War II—mainstream parties did not work with far-right parties on votes. It was a taboo, and Merz broke it.

Now Merz is chancellor. In July 2026, his government announced big changes to pensions and spending. These are unpopular moves—they will hurt people's wallets. The government said openly that the goal was to win back voters who were turning to the AfD because of concerns about costs, jobs, and a sense that institutions were failing them.

The government is trying two things at once. One is symbolic: the new strategy document on extremism, which is mostly about funding programs and coordination between government agencies. The other is real money: the pension and budget changes that directly affect what people earn and what they retire with. These are the grievances that polls say drive AfD voters—worry about their paycheck and their future. The problem is that Merz's party already broke the taboo against working with the AfD. Now they are trying to stop people voting for the AfD in the first place. That contradiction will likely be the hardest part of his time as chancellor.