Regards, Ivan
Posted on 01/21/2003 5:05:44 PM PST by MadIvan
Pim Fortuyn's party faces oblivion in today's Dutch general election, but the assassinated gay populist has left a trail of shattered taboos and pulled Holland's political establishment far into his camp.
A poll published yesterday by the Dutch Nipo institute predicted that the Pim Fortuyn List would win only six seats, down from 26 in the last election last May.
But as voters go to the polls in search of a durable government, after Fortuyn's squabbling followers tore the last one to pieces, they face a Left, Right and Centre that are all echoing his call for law and order and an end to the multicultural "Balkanisation" of Holland.
Gerrit Zalm, leader of the free-market liberals, says that "the Netherlands is full" in every stump speech, adopting word for word Mr Fortuyn's forbidden phrase.
Mr Zalm insists that immigrants must learn Dutch and vows to end the "hotpotch of subsidies" given to Holland's 700 Islamic clubs and lobbies promoting ethnic rights.
The party's new icon is Ayaan Hirsi Ali, 32, a Somali refugee and a critic of the multicultural policy, which she says is being abused by imams to rail against the Dutch values and indoctrinate youths in segregated schools.
The Labour Party, relegated by the Fortuyn List to third place last May after running the country for half a century, has found a new lease of life with Wouter Bos, 39, a former Shell executive and now the heart-throb of Dutch politics.
Mr Bos has pledged to continue the clampdown on illegal immigrants, including police raids on peaceful workers and rapid deportation.
"Only Dutch should be taught in our schools," he said. Labour is leading narrowly in the polls and may go into coalition with the ruling Christian Democrats.
Lousewies van der Laan, an MEP for the anti-war D-66 party, said Mr Bos is copying his British sister party. "He is doing what Tony Blair did, picking up all the conservative themes on crime and immigration and leaving nothing for the Right-wing parties," she said.
Fortuyn's legacy was also to erode the tradition of historic parties rooted in sectors of Dutch life and instead reward "TV driven" masters of image and sound-bites, she added.
For the immigrants who make up a tenth of the population, and half of Rotterdam, Holland has turned chilly.
Cyriel Triesscheign, of the Anti-Discrimination Action Council, said there had been a surge of attacks against mosques, including a grenade explosion two weeks ago. White youths had torn headscarves off Muslim girls.
"We always assumed that we had a liberal, tolerant view, but that now turns out to be a fairy-tale. What we're now seeing is a negative spiral on everything connected to Islam," he said.
It has not been helped by a warning from the intelligence service that al-Qa'eda activists are operating on Dutch soil, could strike at "any time", and are successfully recruiting Dutch-born youths of North African origin.
Holland's Right-ward shift has cleared the field for the Socialist Party, a Maoist offshoot proposing income tax rates of 72 per cent, withdrawal from Nato, opposition to the euro and resettlement of immigrants in well-heeled neighbourhoods to counter the growth of ghettos.
Fortuyn, who was spoiling for a fight with Brussels before his assassination last May, seems to have a legacy in every single party.
Regards, Ivan
The Dutch are probably one of the better allies we have on the Continent. They have a tradition of liberty from their long struggle with Spain for independence, and that is still at the base of their culture.
Yes, Socialism has made it more complicated, but thanks to Fortuyn, that heritage is being rediscovered.
Regards, Ivan
Regards, Ivan
We must learn on our side to employ what Stalin used to call "salami tactics". Slowly, slice by slice we will win. Two steps forward, one step back, two steps forward. We will win in the end if we keep our eye on the goal.
Of course the left never sleeps either and we have to keep plenty of coffee on hand.
Yes. Evil never dies, it merely goes to Hell to regroup.
Regards, Ivan
Of course, they're an artificially-made country with an artificial economy. Everyone in the country appears to be somehow related to everyone else, and is practically like family.
Under those laboratory conditions, Socialism 'works'. The Dutch don't see it as 'Socialism'; They just see it as being traditionally Dutch.
I have to admire Holland's extremely large middle class and business ethics, though there are not many Gooiers in their society. It doesn't seem to be hurting them much to be bereft of Bill Gates'.
Across the North Sea in Sweden, you can see how Socialism doesn't work.
He showed why also libertarians should support this war. I forget who said it, but they described Professor Pim regarding the Netherlands as being a university writ large, with certain rules and requirements that one has to adhere to in order to attend. Those who do not adhere to the rules should be expelled. And these rules concern freedom of thought, conscience, and respect for the individual.
The libertarians over at AntiWar.Com could have followed in Professor Pim's footsteps and realised that the edifice of terror needs to be brought down to preserve the "university of civilisation", but they simply don't want to.
Regards, Ivan
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