EP44: Pim Fortuyn

Populist Pim Fortuyn cannibalised the 2002 Dutch general election with flamboyant campaigning and hostility to Islamic immigration. Nine days before the election, he was assassinated by a left-wing animal rights activist. In a country with a political culture as gentle as the Netherlands, Fortuyn’s murder sent shockwaves through the country. Fortuyn is an important figure because he represents the transition between two political eras; from the immediate post-Cold-War era of prosperity a...