The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) shrugged off a string of scandals to take second place in Sunday’s EU election, making gains in particular among the young, while Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats scored their worst result ever, Report informs via Reuters.

The AfD’s strong showing comes as Germany’s party landscape undergoes its biggest upheaval in decades, with new populist parties vying to take space vacated by the shrinking mainstream parties that have dominated since reunification in 1990.

The AfD also faced nationwide mass anti-extremism protests and rivalry from a new populist party, the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), which was founded in January and is also anti-establishment while advocating a more left-wing economic policy.