In this article I focus on the role that irregular immigration (especially arrivals by boat) takes on today in Italy, where a crisis in representative democracy is unfolding. With the help of statistical data, I show the existence of a significant gap between the perception of the volume of the migratory flows towards Italy and the reality of the facts. I explore, with the help of current academic literature from the political and social sciences, and documents published by political communication experts, the implications that such a gap produces within the country, especially in terms of political manipulation and of the breakdown of the fundamental processes of the Italian democratic system, in favour of populist leadership. I show, furthermore, that the problem of democracy in Italy doesn't stem from the presence of irregular immigrants but rather from a cultural and political deficit. Finally, I offer some reflections on how to tackle the issue of irregular immigration and the Italian democratic representation crisis on the plane of reality, rather than that of mere perception. © 2018 Gregorian University Press. All rights reserved.

Irregular immigration Populist leadership Social inclusion Political conflict Reality and perception (of irregular migration) Italian democratic crisis Communication policy political representation

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