Pim Fortuyn’s charisma and likeablity were key factors in making the List Pim Fortuyn a releveant party in the Netherlands. He accomplished this by being proactive and getting his message out through various platforms.
Fortuyn Promotes His Agenda
Fortuyn’s book, which he published to serve as an electoral platform on March 14, 2002, attacked the two previous cabinets of socials and liberals and portrayed them as complete failures. Fortuyn’s message was actually taken very seriously by many people in the Netherlands, and his book was met with a lot of attention from the media, which caused his campaign to gain a lot more momentum. Most of his supporters were native-born Dutch from the lower classes. Fortuyn was also supported by some middle income groups, and he also acquired a significant following from the nouveau riches of the communications and computer boom of the 1990s. This latter group of supporters was particularly useful in providing Fortuyn’s campaign with support in its financial, public relations, and organizational aspects.
His anti-immigration views continued to get him a lot of attention, and he continued to be very vocal about the necessity to close the borders of the Netherlands, making it one of the central issues of his campaign. Many of Fortuyn’s political enemies attempted to undermine the public’s support of him by labeling him as an extreme right leader. Nevertheless, despite his seemingly extreme right views, Fortuyn always took offense to being compared to other extreme right leaders like Jean-Marie Le Pen.
When he was asked about his similarities to Le Pen, Fortuyn said, "We have nothing in common." When further pressed, he clarified his position by stating that “All those who are here can stay. I don't say send them home like he does - I just say the Netherlands is a small country. We are already overcrowded, there's no more room and we must shut the borders.”
His homosexuality obviously attracted media attention, though Fortuyn preferred to treat it as though not an issue. In fact, in an interview in 2002, Fortuyn was asked about his lifestyle and its relation to his Catholic faith, and whether or not he still considered himself Catholic. He responded, “I am a Catholic. I have, after all, been baptised! I don't call myself one, I am one!”
Debates Give The Edge to Fortuyn
The main turning point in Fortuyn’s campaign, and the point at which many in the Netherlands realized that Fortuyn had a real chance of winning a significant portion of the popular vote, occurred during two televised debates with leaders of the national parties. The first debate was televised on the public television network (Nova) on March 6, 2002. Most viewers immediately noticed a contrast between Fortuyn and the other party leaders. Fortuyn seemed more comfortable, and had more energy and strength than the others. His passion made the other leaders look outdated and products of a tired political system, and many felt that Fortuyn presented an image more befitting of the leader of the country. Scenes of this debate were rerun on television repeatedly in the following weeks, along with much analysis by commentators, which only served to widen Fortuyn’s impact on the country.
Fortuyn successfully upstaged his competitors again on the second debate, which aired on the commercial television network RTL4 (Soundmix Show) on April 27, 2002. The setting allowed Fortuyn to be more at ease, and many more of his followers were in the audience than were present at the first debate. Once again, this appearance increased his support, but it also made him seem like more of a threat to some religious terrorists.
Polls conducted around this time showed that Fortuyn’s efforts in popularizing his message and party had put him in an excellent position to be very successful in the upcoming election. Most polls indicated that Fortuyn could expect to receive between 20 and 38 of the 150 seats in parliament. That would have been an almost unprecedented political victory in the country. Fortuyn was also being talked about as a possible Prime Minister for the new government.
Fortuyn would never see the results of all of his efforts. Fortuyn was assassinated on May 6, 2002, shortly before the upcoming election.
The Party’s Legacy
During the elections on May 15th, Fortuyn’s party received over 17 percent of the voted, and earned 26 seats in the parliament. This was a huge victory for the LPF. It made the party the second largest political party in the country, as well as a partner in the new government. Fortuyn’s party was not able to sustain its victory though. Without Fortuyn, it lacked a central unifying figure. In the elections that occurred the next year, the party lost almost all of its supporters.
See Also: The Creation of the List Pim Fortuyn
Sources
Margary, Peter Jan. The Murder of Pim Fortuyn and Collective Emotions. Hype, Hysteria, and Holiness in the Netherlands. Published in Etnofoor.(2003)
Katholiek Nieuwsblad (a Catholic newspaper), February 15, 2002
Chip Snyder - Chip Snyder is a graduate of The University of Mississippi. He has two degrees. One is a BA in International Studies/French. As part of ...
Join the Conversation