Politicians must learn that normalising far-right talking points is a losing proposition

Normalisation is easier to detect than mainstreaming. But recognising it as a problem requires a public that is paying attention, and prominent figures who will make norm-breaking a scandal, instead of normalising it

For the first time, the main opposition party, Friedrich Merz's centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), relied on the support of the extreme-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) to pass a motion in the national parliament. File photo: AP/Markus Schreiber

With only a few days to go before the federal election on February 23, Germany experienced a political earthquake. 

For the first time, the main opposition party, the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), relied on the support of the extreme-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) to pass a motion in the national parliament.