There is a legitimate question to be asked about whether, insofar as it avoided asking a far-right leader about what is clearly his party’s signature issue, Walde’s interview was journalistically problematic. Given how big a role the issue plays in the AfD’s overall messaging, is it irresponsible not to bring it up? At the same time, it’s also true that the AfD’s position on refugee issues is well known—to the point that other parties, such as the Bavarian conservative Christian Social Union, have attempted to co-opt it to boost their own electoral prospects. ZDF defended Walde’s line of questioning in a statement following the interview’s airing, saying Walde “addressed topics that have great meaning for the people of this country.”

Recent polling among the German electorate bears out ZDF’s point: In an early August DeutschlandTrend survey released by the German broadcaster ARD, 39 percent named refugee issues as an important political topic—far below health care (69 percent) or social and retirement policies (64 percent). “What you saw is that the German far right doesn’t have any answers to a lot of the questions that really concern people,” said Marcel Dirsus, a political scientist at the University of Kiel. “Because people are not just concerned about immigration or crime or security, they’re also concerned about pension and climate change and digitalization. And [AfD leaders] have nothing.”

The interview was part of Berlin Direkt Sommerinterviews, a series ZDF runs every summer featuring big-name leaders from all of Germany’s major political parties. In early July, Chancellor Angela Merkel appeared in the series; since then, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the liberal Free Democrats leader Christian Lindner, the Left Party leader Bernd Riexinger, and the Greens leader Annalena Baerbock have all participated. In other words, the format of these interviews isn’t new—politicians know they’ll be asked policy questions, and many policy questions that are especially difficult or uncomfortable for their respective parties.

Ultimately, the interview also highlighted the strategy some German politicians have told me they see as the most effective one against the AfD: to hold them to the same standards as other politicians, and watch them fail to deliver anything substantive. When I spoke with MPs from all the major political parties earlier this year, they were divided on whether to ignore or engage their far-right counterparts; however, most agreed that the AfD would either have to step up on political substance or else stand to lose credibility. “These should be questions that should be easy to answer for any political leader, because they are so important for the future of Germany,” Dirsus said. “The AfD wants to talk about refugees, because this is where they can score points, but they clearly don’t have answers on any of the other topics.”

We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.