Irregular migration is feeding into the growth of anti-establishment politics in southern Europe

On 15 February the Italian coastguard launched an operation to rescue more than 2,000 migrants who were in difficulty between the island of Lampedusa and the coast of Libya. Anna Triandafyllidou writes on the pressure irregular migration is having on the countries of southern Europe. She argues that countries such as Italy and Greece are now facing a ‘triple crisis’ composed of irregular migration, stubborn unemployment rates, and high levels of poverty, which is feeding into the growth of anti-establishment politics.