(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.

The reclassification — AfD was previously designated a “suspected” extremist group — is likely to reignite debate over a political ban on the party.

Germany’s domestic intelligence agency on Friday classified the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) as an extremist entity that threatens democracy, a move enabling it to better monitor the party that came second in February’s federal election.