Is the Alternative for Germany (AfD) an extreme right-wing party or not? The German domestic intelligence service, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, recently classified it as "confirmed right-wing extremist."

However, the AfD has taken the issue to court and now the intelligence service will suspend its use the statement until a ruling has been made. While this is common practice during pending proceedings, the AfD is celebrating the suspension as a win.

A majority of Germans share the view that the AfD's agenda runs counter to democracy, the rule of law and human dignity. But how best to deal with the AfD is becoming an issue that could further divide German society.

One question is particularly explosive for the new government led by Chancellor Friedrich Merz: Should a ban on the AfD be considered by the Federal Constitutional Court?

Opponents argue that this would further promote social division and that 10 million AfD voters would not simply disappear. Supporters of the ban insist that enemies of democracy should not be put in a position to able to destroy democracy.

Johannes Kiess, deputy director of the Else Frenkel-Brunswik Institute for Democracy Research at the University of Leipzig, believes that an application to ban the AfD should be........

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