THE NETHERLANDS: Pim Fortuyn's followers will keep promoting his ideas, writes Isabel Conway, from Amsterdam
The murdered right-wing Dutch populist Pim Fortuyn had until recently been written off as a seven-day wonder following the success of his fledgling party in local elections last March.
But ratings of the flamboyant homosexual academic and his Lijst Fortuyn party have soared in the run-up to next week's general elections. A poll published in Dutch newspapers yesterday predicted he could expect to get at least 15 per cent of the vote and up to 20 seats.
To the astonishment of his opponents, which included practically the entire Dutch political establishment, the 54-year-old former sociology professor seemed likely to be a participant in the next coalition government. Mr Fortuyn was known for his anti-foreigner views, provoking controversy by saying Dutch borders should be closed to immigrants and calling Islam "backward".
But sensing a real chance of participating in the political process, he started to court potential partners, such as the Christian Democrats (CDA) by softening his hardline stand. By last week the man who recently demanded an end to anti-discrimination measures in the constitution and a halt to immigration of Muslims was suggesting that immigrants in the Netherlands for five years or longer were entitled to be legalised.
The eccentric, shaven-headed politician was a strange mixture of contrasts. He berated working women for not being home to look after their school-going children, but in the next breath he was calling for the legalisation of soft drugs in the Netherlands. In a country which favours low-key, modest behaviour, Mr Fortuyn, with his passion for stylish suits and his chauffeur-driven limousine accompanied by his two small dogs, was a real curiosity.
Talking to foreign correspondents including this reporter recently, he said he was not a Dutch version of Jean-Marie Le Pen.
"I would compare myself with Italy's Prime Minister Berlusconi and not Le Pen," he explained. He became agitated at the profile of him abroad as being that of a racist. "But the Netherlands is not an immigration country and the annual stream of tens of thousands of newcomers who largely end up as illegal aliens must stop. Only then can the integration and emancipation of minorities succeed."
As he saw it, there was an onus on minorities to integrate fully into Dutch life. He told foreign correspondents that the governments of the last eight years had failed the electorate. His promise of less immigration, safer streets and investment in health and education had struck a chord.
Mr Fortuyn sought and received enormous media attention. He had an extraordinary capacity for self-promotion and headline-grabbing one-liners. His election campaign was tightly controlled and he did not tolerate internal opposition.
Recently the BBC journalist John Simpson fell foul of Mr Fortuyn, who ordered him and his crew to leave his home after cutting their interview short. Mr Foruyn told him: "You may have liberated Kabul but we in the Netherlands are modest people. Your questions show you are not showing me any respect and you can go," he told him.
A devoted son, it is believed that he was planning to stay in a Rotterdam hotel amid continuing threats and fears expressed for his safety by his mother. According to his political aids, he was the subject of many threats and hate-mail.
Earlier this week, he said that there were areas of Rotterdam in which he could no longer appear due to fears for his safety.
Although Mr Fortuyn was the main figure in his party, his supporters in the party he originally founded, Leefbaar Nederlands, promised to continue to promote his ideals.
A leading party member, Mr Harry Mens, said: "People will vote in his memory. Democracy should never be compromised and the Dutch public will rally round to show that ideas can never be extinguished by bullets."