If Merz thinks he can control the AfD, he should remember that parliamentary elections have consequences, and political predictions are worth as much as Orange Oaf’s word, diddly-squat. Merz should also consider the American grifter-in-chief’s takeover of the Republican party, which is no longer recognizable. This path was made easier by the Tea Party nuts of the mid-1990s and early aughts (think debt ceiling and endless obstructionism), but Orange Oaf, who believes nothing, co-opted the party completely. If Merz has learned from Trump that norms need not constrain him, what does he think the AfD has learned?