Jörg Meuthen, co-federal leader of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) political party, speaks at the party congress Nov. 28, in Kalkar, Germany. Meuthen criticized the party's right wing in his speech. The AfD held the two-day congress in person, as total confirmed coronavirus infections passed the 1 million mark. Sascha Schuermann/Getty Images hide caption

Luisa-Marie Neubauer of Fridays for Future takes part in a demonstration in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin on June 2. The protest took place while government leaders discussed economic stimulus and other strategies in the fight against the coronavirus. Kay Nietfeld/picture alliance via Getty Images hide caption

Many Germans say cash is quick and easy to use and keeps transactions more private. Arne Dedert/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has had to readjust her government's approach to trans-Atlantic relations. Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

Annalena Baerbock, co-chairwoman of the Green party, gestures during her speech at the party convention in Leipzig, Germany, in November. Jens Meyer/AP hide caption

German Chancellor Angela Merkel chats with CDU General Secretary Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer in Berlin last month. Kramp-Karrenbauer is among three leading candidates seeking to run the party next month. Sean Gallup/Getty Images hide caption

Björn Höcke (center), a politician from the Alternative for Germany party, participates in a march in Chemnitz, eastern Germany, on Sept. 1, after several nationalist groups called for marches protesting the killing of a German man allegedly by migrants. Jens Meyer/AP hide caption

German Chancellor Angela Merkel leaves a press conference after a leadership meeting at her party headquarters in Berlin on Monday. Hardliners in her conservative bloc want to bar asylum-seekers from entering Germany if they've already applied or registered for asylum in other European countries. Tobias Schwarz/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

Alternative for Germany leaders Alexander Gauland and Alice Weidel listen to German Chancellor Angela Merkel answer questions at Germany's parliament on June 6. Tobias Schwarz/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

German Chancellor Angela Merkel addresses the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday. Markus Schreiber/AP hide caption

Alexander Gauland, 76, and Alice Weidel, 38, are the leaders of the populist, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany party. They will both take seats in the country's Parliament later this month. John Macdougall/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

The far-right Alternative for Germany party came in third place nationally, but in the eastern state of Saxony, where the town of Pirna is located, the party finished first with 27 percent of the vote. Jens Schlueter/Getty Images hide caption

AfD top candidates Alexander Gauland, left, and Alice Weidel celebrate with their supporters during the election party of the nationalist Alternative for Germany, in Berlin, Sunday, after the polling stations for the parliament elections closed. Martin Meissner/AP hide caption

Even though German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union party came in first in Sunday's parliamentary election, she said she "would have preferred a better result." Matthias Schrader/AP hide caption

Alice Weidel and Alexander Gauland, leading candidates of the right-wing, populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) political party, stand near an AfD poster that reads: "Crime Through Immigration, The Refugee Wave Leaves Behind Clues!" Sept. 18 in Berlin. Sean Gallup/Getty Images hide caption