Germany's new Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Tuesday that simply banning the far-right Alternative for Germany would not end the groundswell of support for it, noting it was key instead to fight the causes.

The designation is certain to inflame debates over whether the party should be banned, though some polls show it to be the most popular in the country.

(CN) — Alternative for Germany, a far-right anti-immigrant party that now tops opinion polls only two months after it scored historic gains in national elections, was classified as a threat to democracy on Friday by the country's domestic intelligence agency.