Incoming German interior minister Alexander Dobrindt suggested on Sunday it was unlikely the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party would be banned after the spy agency classified it as "extremist" last week.

Germany's soon-to-be interior minister, Alexander Dobrindt, appears reluctant to initiate a ban on the country's Alternative for Germany (AfD), the party recently designated by intelligence officials as a "right-wing extremist" threat to democracy.

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.