In a country long defined by stable factory jobs and rising blue-collar wages, the quiet exchange captures a deepening rupture: Political forces once confined to the margins are now recruiting right where Germany forged its postwar social contract. Zentrum’s ambitions go beyond simple representation of workers. The group unabashedly promotes a right-wing, nationalist agenda, aiming to turn factories into political incubators in much the way Italian and German leftist radicals did in the 1960s and ’70s. This spring, workers at manufacturers including Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Volkswagen will vote on labor representation, and almost everyone expects Zentrum to make strong gains.