The three-party coalition government of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz dropped to a record low in an opinion poll published in Bild am Sonntag.

Support for Scholz’s Social Democrats dropped to 17%, which is 8.7 percentage points less than their result in the federal election two years ago, according to the poll by the institute Insa.

The other two governing parties, the Greens and the liberal FDP, got 14% and 6%, respectively. The combined support level of 37% is the lowest for Scholz’s coalition since it was elected in September 2021.

The biggest opposition party, the conservative CDU, remained at 27%, while the right-wing populist Alternative fuer Deutschland (AfD) gained another point and is now at 22%.

The rise of the AfD, which denies the climate crisis is caused by human activity, opposes European Union membership and wants to stop migration into the country, is worrying democratic parties and investors. In the East German states of Brandenburg, Thuringia and Saxony, where state elections will be held next year, the AfD is currently the strongest party with more than 30% in polls.