After blocking ships with rescued migrants from docking at Italian ports and announcing plans for a census of the countrys Roma population, divisive Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has become the new poster boy for Europes resurgent far-right.

As leader of the anti-immigration League party, Salvini is among a host of far-right politicians who gained a footing by vilifying migrants and who are now enjoying unprecedented support.

A poll last week showed that two-thirds of Italians agreed with the policy of blocking rescue boats from the ports, and the Leagues support has nearly doubled in the last month.

The League also built on its support at local elections over the weekend, winning in the second round of votes even in cities that had swung traditionally to the left. Salvini called the win historic .

Elsewhere, Germanys anti-immigrant far-right party, Alternative for Germany, polled higher than ever before at 16 percent in a survey released Sunday in the Bild am Sonntag newspaper. German Chancellor Angela Merkels conservative coalition, meanwhile, slumped two points to 31 percent.

The two countries will likely spare over how E.U. states should handle the migration question at a summit in Brussels on Thursday and Friday.

Across Europe, support for populist far-right parties is higher than at any time in the last 30 years , a Bloomberg analysis found last year. And while people were found to be motivated by a variety of concerns when they vote, polls have shown that immigration is the top concern among E.U. citizens .