Security agencies should keep an eye on the right-wing Alternative fuer Deutschland (Alternative for Germany) party after its leader suggested that police use firearms against migrants, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition partner Sigmar Gabriel told local media on Sunday.

© AFP 2018 / PATRIK STOLLARZ Tighter Refugee Rules in Germany ‘Weak’ Response to Migration Crisis – Pirate Party

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — AfD party leader Frauke Petry came under criticism on Saturday after she urged border police to shoot at migrants trying to cross into Germany illegally, if necessary. Police responded by bashing the party for spreading radicalism and inhumane ideas.

"The [Federal Office for] Protection of the Constitution [domestic security agency] should deal with AfD," Socialist leader Gabriel told Bild am Sonntag, adding the populist AfD should not be given airtime by national broadcasters.

The government of Angela Merkel has been criticized for its open-door refugee policy after more than a million immigrants arrived in Germany last year, causing her rating to drop. A recent poll published by the German Focus magazine found that 40 percent of Germans want Merkel to step down.