The first confounding factor that occurs to me: were they especially old? Politicians tend to be on the elderly side. Even more so for conservative politicians

The first confounding factor that occurs to me: were they especially old? Politicians tend to be on the elderly side. Even more so for conservative politicians, I think, but I don't know much about AfD. If so, perhaps it's not quite as unlikely as the economist (quoted in TFA) thinks. But that's just speculation.