The political legacy of Pim Fortuyn

摘要

The Netherlands has long seemed to combine the best of many worlds: a booming economy along with a generous welfare state; a keen attitude to Europe's integration combined with a strong sense of national identity; a multiracial society that seemed at peace with itself. Pirn Fortuyn challenged this comfortable picture. His murder, allegedly by an animal-rights extremist, may challenge it further. In his brief political career, Mr Fortuyn, a flamboyantly gay sociology professor, had shown that there were many Dutch people ready to vote―which probably implied many others ready at least to see his point―for a politician who rejected multi-culturalism, called for an end to immigration and excoriated Islam as a "backward culture" for its intolerance of homosexuals, attitude to women and more. His followers, under the name of Liveable Rotterdam, sprang to prominence by coming first in local elections in that city, his home, in March. At the head of a national Pirn Fortuyn List, he was running strongly in the campaign for the Dutch general election on May 15th. Already this had called into question the Netherlands' fabled moderation; but his murder on May 6th was an even deeper shock. Commentators noted that this was the first political murder in the country since the 17th century.