We are the People!

[Nentsia]

He was a dandy, a homosexual, he owned two little dogs, he was driven around in an old Jaguar with a driver, a University professor specialized in Marxism, and he was an eloquent, gifted orator. Pim Fortuyn was one of the most remarkable politicians in Dutch history since 1945. He singlehandedly transformed a political climate that had been in existence in the country since at least the 1980's, and without having ever had the chance to participate in the national elections, he changed the country dramatically. Fortuyn's national political career lasted three months. He was shot dead a week before the elections. His legacy continues to be felt throughout the country every day.

In the late 1990's and early 2000's something was changing in the country, and perhaps in Europe. We were going through years of unprecedented prosperity, decadence even, and nothing to worry about... But for some reason, a populist wave was going through Europe already during those years. Front National achieved its first major successes in France, Berlusconi became prime minister of Italy, Jörg Haider and the FPÖ came to power in Austria, and in the Netherlands we had Pim Fortuyn. Like the other populists at the time, Fortuyn wanted to drastically change the political climate in the country, describing the ''political elite'' as a self-interested clique, ignorant of the problems in the society. They were obsessed with sitting out their term in office, and with numbers and statistics about economic growth. But the issues of the common man in the street, the issues of the elderly woman in a hospital, left them entirely cold - so Fortuyn argued.

He began his career as a local politician in Rotterdam, a city with many immigrants, high crime rates, and growing unemployment among the old working class as the Rotterdam harbors were replacing workers with machines. The political party that supposedly cared for these kind of people, the Dutch Labour Party (PvdA), had been in a government coalition with the conservative-liberal VVD since 1994 and had been promoting a program of ruthless privatization and deregulation. The PvdA was one of the first Social democratic parties in Europe to adopt the Third Way position, and its policies inspired Gerhard Schröder (SPD Chancellor of Germany), Tony Blair (Labour PM of Britain), and Bill Clinton, the Democratic president of the US. Throughout the years 1994-2002 then, when this ''red-blue'' or ''purple'' administration was in office, issues such as immigration, healthcare, and social security were deliberately ignored, while there was extra attention for the ''modernization'' of the economy. Where then, could those Rotterdam workers turn to?

One study from 1999 already noted that there was a rise in European populism of movements that confronted the ''politics of pragmatism'' on behalf of ''the man in the street''. The Dutch purple coalition that governed the country between 1994 and 2002 was precisely founded on the principle of pragmatism. Prime minister Kok (dont laugh) spoke of ''losing'' his ''ideological feathers''. His cabinet consisted of his own PvdA, the VVD, and D66 ministers. This is the equivalent of having a Labour-Tory-Libdem coalition in the UK, or a Republican-Democratic administration in the US. It could only function through pragmatism, and it was against this pragmatism - which sacrificed pressing issues for the sake of political peace - that Pim Fortuyn revolted against.


''At your service!''

The Dutch immigration issues had started in 1947, when Indonesia declared its independence from the Kingdom. A bloody war ensued, and, under US pressure, the Dutch accepted Indonesian independence in 1949. The Dutch would later repay the US for that by refusing political and military support for the US in Vietnam. One group in Indonesia, the Moluccans, had fought on the Dutch side - with the false promise they'd be given their own state. Indonesia annexed the Moluccans, and many fled to the Netherlands. In the 1960's the government started to bring in workers from Morocco, ''guest workers'', who were supposed to work here for several years and then return to their homeland. They therefore deliberately imported poorly educated Berbers from Morocco, and never attempted to integrate these people in Dutch society, or even to teach them the language. After several years, the Moroccan workers brought their families to the country as well, and settled here for good. In 1975 Suriname, another Dutch colony, gained its independence. Hundreds of thousands of Surinamese came to the Netherlands. In 1980 a military coup shook up Suriname, and in 1982 a civil war broke out, bringing many more Surinamese to the Netherlands. Antilians also came over, from the Dutch islands in the Caribbean, and throughout the 60's and 70's a lot of Greeks, Italians, Indonesians, Vietnamese, Chinese, Turks - all came to this country. With the Balkan Wars there also came thousands of refugees from Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia, Nagorno-Karabakh (Caucasus), Armenia, and Chechnya.  Two particular groups did not integrate well: the Moroccans and the Antilians. The Moroccans did poorly in education, because their parents had continued to speak Arab with them at home, and often had no job. Moroccan youths dropped out of school, lived on the streets, and was involved in crime. The Antilians had a different story, but same result: broken families, poor education, no jobs, living on the streets, and crime.

The first Dutch anti-immigration parties emerged in the early 1980's, but they were violently attacked by Leftist youths who thought that the Fascists, then still in living memory, were back. In the mid-1990's the first anti-refugee sentiments erupted as the government settled hundreds of Bosnian refugees across the country. By the late 1990's, the first opinions started to emerge in the media that criticized the Dutch open borders, crime among immigrants, and their lack of knowledge of Dutch culture and language. ''Full means full'', was the motto. This was already a country with a relatively large population for a small surface, why bring in more?

Pim Fortuyn mobilized at least 20 years of cropped up indignation with the government's deliberate blindness to all these issues: crime, immigration, healthcare - and above all - the arrogant attitude of the politcal champions of ''pragmatism''. What they called ''pragmatism'', became increasingly seen as cynical political backroom deals, at the expense of the voters.

In 2001, Fortuyn, then already making name for himself as man with unorthodox opinions in conservative newspapers, was elected by a local political party in Rotterdam, which was a typical anti-establishment club operating on a local level. Fortuyn gave an astonishing speech, and with a great sense for theater and drama, he saluted the congress and spoke the words ''At your service!''. Ask any random Dutchman about that line, and they'll still think about Pim Fortuyn. Although he once had been a member of the governing PvdA, he was now presenting himself as its greatest enemy. The PvdA had, in Fortuyn's eyes, betrayed its own voters and members and neglected the interests of the ''common people''. The PvdA's greatest error, in Fortuyn's view, was to give criminal immigrant youths way too many chances. The PvdA had been soft, out of its blind faith in ''multiculturalism'', and now criminal immigrants terrorized Dutch society. What this country needed was firm leadership, a strong hand, tough on crime, and zero tolerance for criminals.

One can guess... a bald man, with a particular hatred of ''socialists'', ''immigrants'', and an un-Dutch preferrence for strong government, was quickly compared to Mussolini - Italy's Fascist dictator. Fortuyn was not a Fascist, not even a nationalist. His stances on immigration came down to higher integration demands, reduction of the number migrants being allowed to enter, and tough policies to reduce crime - especially coming from immigrant criminal gangs. Fortuyn was above all a conservative, who wanted to restore law and order, and discipline in this country. He framed the governing elites as arrogant, sleeping, deaf, and blinded. Above all, he framed them, and the PvdA, as being soft. Soft on crime, soft on immigration, soft on upholding standards in the healthcare system, soft on everything that demanded a firm hand.

On top of that, Fortuyn was a different man compared to the political leaders of the country. The prime minister was old and grey after 2 terms in office, his intended successor was the very embodiment of arrogance. The other politicians were all grey technocrats, who thought that they were the best managers the country had ever had. They were above all boring. Pim Fortuyn was young, he was energetic, eloquent, and provocative. He openly spoke about his visits to gay bars, he wore three-piece suits (unusual in this sobre country), drove a Jaguar, and he was a man with a mission: restore Dutch democracy, give it back to ''the people''.

In this respect, Fortuyn differed from the nationalist populist movements elsewhere in Europe, such as Denmark, Austria, France, and Belgium. His populism drew more on a kind of libertarianism. He wanted to save Dutch democracy from the claws of the old, technocratic, political clique, protect Dutch democratic ''values'' against un-integrated Islam, and restore law and order in those immigrant neighbourhoods where non-immigrants did not dare to walk anymore.

The political establishment, and Leftist commentators, overwhelmed by the sudden wave of support that erupted for Fortuyn, warned the nation for him - accusing him of being a crypto-fascist and a racist. The political establishment despised Fortuyn, and when looking back at the debates on television, one can see the hatred in their eyes upon meeting Fortuyn. But Fortuyn did attract the members of openly Neo-Nazi organizations, he did say things like ''Islam is a barbaric culture'', and he pleaded for the removal of article 1 of the Dutch constitution, which bans racism and discrimination.

At the same time Fortuyn stood up for the interests of the small business owners, which, although traditionally represented by the VVD, were no longer taken care of by this party which had joined the PvdA in its technocratic governance. In March 2002 Fortuyn won the municipal elections of Rotterdam by a landslide, and throughout the country there were calls for Fortuyn to enter national politics - as there were national elections later that year. Fortuyn headed to a TV debate that night with all national political leaders. It would become a historic moment, where one could read the fury off their faces, and they even refused to congratulate Fortuyn with his victory.

Fortuyn later presented his plans for national politics, and promised to put an end to ''a mess after eight purple years'', purple referring to the Red-Blue coalition government. At the presentation, activists threw a cake against his head. Fortuyn appealed to the government to protect him. In early May 2002, a week before the elections, after giving a radio interview and walking to his Jaguar in the parking lot, Fortuyn was shot dead by a leftist activist.

Fortuyn's followers that day quickly concluded ''the bullet came from the Left'', and they held the PvdA and the government responsible. Angry mobs formed throughout the country and began to riot. In the Hague, where there was an emergency session of the government and the parliament, an angry mob tried to storm the parliament.



The cabinet discussed with the most prominent members of Fortuyn's movement, LPF, whether to carry on or to postpone the elections. Everyone agreed it had to continue. The LPF became the second largest party of the country and entered a government coalition together with the Christian Democrats and the VVD. The LPF without Pim Fortuyn however, soon resorted to infighting by the opportunists that had joined the movement. Former business men, arrivistes, and political adventurers dominated the LPF, and they bickered publically with each other over ministries, and even silly things such as a golden spoon with their cup of coffee. Within 87 days the coalition collapsed and new elections were needed. The LPF vanished from the political scene. But politics in the Netherlands has never been the same anymore.

Fortuyn was one of those populists who wanted to shake things up, break the political status quo, and get on with some problems in the country. Since his death, not a single cabinet has managed to complete its term - although the current one (since 2012) may complete its term in early 2017. Even the Left nowadays will admit they miss Fortuyn. For they realize that his death opened the gates for far more extreme populists such as Geert Wilders. Yet no politician has ever dared to call Wilders a Fascist or to hint at that. Fortuyn is always in the back of people's minds in Dutch politics.

And here is a picture of Fortuyn (middle) meeting with the ''political establishment'' on the night of his victory in Rotterdam. The body language says enough.