The popping-up of new political parties to accomodate people driven by rancour and frustration is a rather common phenomenon. It functions as an exhaust for unfulfilled or unsatisfied political ambition and stuck/aborted careers. But Leefbaar Nederland (political party) is in this area very striking/remarkable, especially since the touchy Pim Fortuyn captured the position of party leader for the elections. A dangerous man, boiling with fear of foreigners. He will use the word 'hufter' (scum, jerk) frequently in the near future, referring to other people (pointing at his opponents), in spite of his own very creepy characteristics. It is his 'intellectual' way of showing his raised middle finger (fuck you). ((Uit het Brabants Dagblad van 17 november 2001, de gehele column van Tony van der Meulen op www.sdnl.nl/demonisering2.htm)

Er duiken wel vaker partijtjes op van en voor lieden die voortgedreven worden door rancune. De uitlaatklep voor onvervulde politieke ambities en vastgelopen carrières. Maar Leefbaar Nederland is in dit genre wel heel speciaal, zeker nu de lichtaangebrande Pim Fortuyn zich meester maakt van het lijsttrekkerschap. Gevaarlijk man, boordevol angst voor vreemdelingen. Hij zal de komende tijd het woord hufter vaak in de mond nemen als hij anderen bedoelt. Terwijl hij zelf bijzonder enge karaktertrekken vertoont. De intellectuele variant van je middelvinger opsteken. (Uit het Brabants Dagblad van 17 november 2001, de gehele column van Tony van der Meulen op www.sdnl.nl/demonisering2.htm)

He (Fortuyn) acts irresponsible. Maybe Dangerous Holland is even a better name for his party.
D66-minister (for integration affaies) Rogier van Boxtel, 21 september 2001,
cited in the Rotterdams Dagblad (22 Sep 2001)

Fortuyn can criticize, lament, shock, challenge, bite, provoke, seduce, but failed to deliver contructive or positive results. He is in his mind no real democrate, building bridges between different groups. He is more a man to command, to impose his ideas on others, preferably from the Catshuis (prime-minister's office). Kees Lunshof (opinion-leader) in De Telegraaf (30 Oct 2001)

'Poldermussolini' (dictator of the Low-Lands). It sounds very dismissive and reproachful, and reactions are to be expected, but you should believe me: I see a direct link between Fortuyn, Mussolini and eventually Nietzsche. Manuel Kneepkens (Stadspartij Rotterdam) in Rotterdams Dagblad (28 Nov 2001)

You dirty, bald fake-professor, you got the mind of an Adolf Hitler and the charm of Heinrich Himmler.
You feed on hatered and for that I hope you will contract aids in your 'dark room'.
Journalist Matty Verkamman in Trouw (22 Dece 2001)

Another five polls to go, and Leefbaar Nederland (Fortuyn's first party) will win an absolute majority.
Another ten years, and Pim Fortuyn is definitely the Mussolini of the 21st Century.
Opinion-leader Jan Blokker in the Volkskrant (30 Jan 2002)

One of the typical characters he (psychologist Kets de Vries) describes, is the Mussolini-type. It occurs to me that the definition fits exactly the leader of Leefbaar Nederland. The vain leader who expresses perfectly the ideas people want to hear. And then you see people follow such a leader without hesitation or reserve. Bas Eenhoorn, chairman VVD (right-wing party) in Nijkerk,
cited in Algemeen Dagblad (7-2-02)

Fortuyn clears the way for unlimited discrimination, for a totally different society of people opposing eachother.
He passes a border one should not pass. Netherlands wake up! Ad Melkert (PvdA) on a party meeting (9 Feb 2002),
reacting to an interview in the Volkskrant

This is not ordinary right-wing politics, this is extreme right-wing. Leefbaar Nederland: dismiss this swindler!
He has pinched your party and uses it for his personal agenda. Paul Rosenmöller (GroenLinks)
on a party meeting (9 Feb 2002)

I was really upset by the words of Fortuyn. It looks like a combination of Janmaat and Dewinter (Belgium),
opposing the antidiscrimination laws. Hans Dijkstal (VVD)
on a party meeting (9 Feb 2002)

Nearby, at such a distance you can walk from here, you will find the outbuilding. The place where Anne Frank sixty years ago was hiding in appalling circumstances. She wrote in her diary: 'I hope for only one thing - that this hatered will pass. That the Dutch people will show who they are. That they do not become unstable and uncertain in their conviction about justice. Because this actual situation is wrong and injust'. This morning Pim Fortuyn finally showed his real face. Now it is clear what he wants: a country where people with a specific belief, another culture, a different background or origin are subject to discrimination. Thom de Graaf (D66) on a party meeting (9 Feb 2002)

To the readers of Fortuyn's books and his columns in Elsevier: his ideas are not new. But this self-centered boastful Fortuyn is no longer a lonely whipper (taleteller) who can easily be ignored. He is the leader of a party with the ambition to participate in the administration and government of this country. Comment by the chief-editor of the Algemeen Dagblad (11 Feb 2002)

There will be people who share his views. But a party which intends to be considered as serious and capable, cannot be in a position to tolerate and support such hateful ideas. The congratulations from Filip Dewinter, the leader of the extreme-right Vlaams Blok (Flemish party), makes clear which part of society provides Fortuyn's supporters. Comment by the chief-editor of the Algemeen Dagblad (11 Feb 2002): "That one could name him extremely right is sufficiently underpinned by the fact that he receives compliments from the Vlaams Blok. Els Kuijper (PvdA-Rotterdam) in the Rotterdams Dagblad (11 Feb 2002)

Fortuyn has all his hobby-horses mixed with a fluidum, resulting in a badly smelling cocktail. In doing so, he makes perfectly clear that we are confronted with an undisciplined 'water-maker', someone whose bladder got so heavily under pressure in recent years from the remnants of his obscure mind, that the only way to relieve was urinating around. Willem Breedveld in the Trouw (14 Feb 2002)

It is clarifying to compare the actual anti-islamic movement with anti-Semitism prior to the Second World War. Replace in the interview with Fortuyn in the Volkskrant all words - like Moroccan, islamist, islam, imam, and mosque - by Jew, Jewish movement, rabbi or synagogue, and you will sense the oppression of anti-semitism in the years 1930 and so on. In those days the Jews were the scapegoat for the economical crisis; and now the muslims are scapegoats for the security crisis. The extremist Fortuyn can not count on an electoral victory in a moderate and tolerant country like the Netherlands. But on his way to disaster he might cause great havoc and damage. Marcel van Dam in the Volkskrant (14 Feb 2002) "Pim Fortuyn was an inferior human being", Marcel van Dam said on national television.

Pim Fortuyn stimulates conflict and distrust between people and in this way our society will not grow more tolerant, thus getting no more viable and valuable. In effect he augments the fear of people, and spreads hatered. Nico Janssen. (VVD-Rotterdam) on a party meeting, cited in Rotterdams Dagblad (15-2-02)

The (adoption of the) 'Führerprinzip' (one-leader concept) can be desirable and effective, especially in times of cultural crisis. Leefbaar Nederland has now rejected the monster it produced, but the party has deliberately played with fire in full consciousness. Apart from this, the politicians in The Hague remain not without blame, because they cleared the way and paved it for the new Hans Janmaat (former extreme-right politician). Jaap van Ginneken (political psychologist) in Het Parool (16 Feb 2002)

The Thirties of the last century were not experienced by me, but I have read about those events. It started with throwing stones and smashing windows of shops owned by (Jewish) tradespeople. And the hatered being spread all over the (German) country, it caused a world-wide fire. Cities like Rotterdam suffered from destruction and incendiary bombing. The Amsterdam canals 'survived' as contrasted with the jewish citizens. The statue of the 'dokwerker' (harbour worker) reminds us of the resistance by courageous people who had the guts to say no to the occupying authorities. Rotterdam has, in addition to Erasmus, the Zadkine statue without a heart (like the bombed city). This crosses my mind when I see Pim play his irresponsible little games. Redmar Kooistra in the Algemeen Dagblad (16 Feb 2002)

Vigilance against intolerance is now, 57 years after the war, a highly actual topic again. Reason why it is a good habit to remember every year the events in Europe and in the rest of the world during the Second World War. The February-strike of railway workers was the only collective resistance act of magnitude during the whole war. The signal to the German occupiers was transmitted: Do not touch our fellow-citizens. And that was how it should be now. I do not and will never accept the division of the Amsterdam population, resulting in two or more categories. Rob Oudkerk (PvdA-Amsterdam) on the occasion of remembrance day of the February-strike (25 Feb 2002)

The key question is, whether we want to be led by fear, intolerance and hatered, or by a feeling of togetherness and being in the same boat. 'Nationalists think by putting a fence around our country, we can keep out all problems. This is very dangerous.' (Prime-minister Wim Kok (PvdA) on a party meeting 27 Feb 2002) 'I see see a risk of the strongest winning our future. That is evidently the case with the party "List Pim Fortuyn". (...) I have sleepless nights about the future of the Netherlands.' Minister-president Wim Kok, 2 mei 2002 in an interview with GPD-newspapers.

Carla del Ponte remarked that Milosevic was not inspired by nationalism, but by his greed for power. This applies equally to the man who crows that he will be the next prime-minister. Pim Fortuyn has not yet committed war crimes. But how will he instruct his police when, in the future, ethnic groups collide as a result of his provocations? Burned-down houses of the 'Ali babas' in a Balkanized Rotterdam are hardly to imagine without fear. Roel van Duijn (Balkan expert and GroenLinks) in Algemeen Dagblad (2-3-02)

I met people who think: am I spilled tap-water, will I be wept?
Ad Melkert (PvdA) TV-debate on 6 March, cited in the Rotterdams Dagblad (7 Mar 2002).

Let us hope that we have not to deal with one leader and the rest only followers.
Such phenomenon is already history and should not return. Herman Touw (VVD-Rotterdam) on 6 March, cited in the Rotterdams Dagblad (7 Mar 2002)

What do we tell the little girl who believes that her father is not allowed to re-enter the country she was born in, after visiting her grandfather in Turkey?
Els Kuijper (PvdA-Rotterdam), cited in the Rotterdams Dagblad (7 Mar 2002)

I do not want to put labels of racism or fascism, but this phenomenon was not visible since the Thirties of the last century. Maybe there is an identical search going on for a strong man who dares to speak up, loud and clear. Hans Kombrink (PvdA-Rotterdam) in the Rotterdams Dagblad (9 March 2002).

A manifesto like this is an attempt to provoke the (social) system and structure, its roots and spine, destabiliseing the Dutch society. The political program of the Fortuyn movement is no joke. The exposure of its nature is a serious task of the administration (governing parties) and parties of the opposition. Comment by the chief-editor of NRC Handelsblad (13 Mar 2002)

If Pim Fortuyn is in charge, a culture of conflict will arise: we against others. Paul Rosenmöller (GroenLinks), cited in the Rotterdams Dagblad (14 Mar 2002)

Democracy is no friend or brother of our Midget-Mussolini. Bart Tromp in Het Parool (14 Mar 2002)

Biologische Bakkers Brigadee (15 Mar 2002)

Big egos are able to function adequately in society. It shows in the case of Milosevic. These reputable figures possess the same mechanism, as revealed by means of psychological analyses: Hitler, Stalin, what type of men were they? I suppose he (Fortuyn) meets the criteria. Drs. E. Netjes, (psychologist) in the Groene Amsterdammer (16 Mar 2002)

Fortuyn is provoking, challenging, like Reve (homosexual writer) who shouts also that all black people should be clubbed to death. However, Reve will not have authorized powers. Fortuyn might, this can be a point of concern. Furthermore, he unveils psychotic marks. Which means that he can skillfully attract and convince people and, on the other hand, has a rather weak conscience. Iki Halberstadt-Freud (psychotherapist) in the Groene Amsterdammer (16 Mar 2002)

It's not possible to solve all problems using one simple approach (formula), and anyone who tells you differently is cheating the people. I judge Fortuyn being a dangerous man from this perspective. Gerrit Zalm (VVD) on 17 March in Buitenhof (tv-programme), cited in De Telegraaf (18 Mar 2002)

The world has grown more ominous. Instead of an inspiring post-'polder', post-sanitation policy, we get a xenophobic uprising by Pim Fortuyn and his party. René Cuperus (Wiardi Beckman Stiching PvdA)
in the Trouw (18 Mar 2002)

This number 2 on his elections list, the youngish Joao Varela from Cape Verdian descent, would he be able to cure Pim Fortuyn from his xenophobia? It's too good to be true, I fear. I wonder what is wrong in the minds of one out of five voters, following this untrue, fake Messiah. Anet Bleich in Volkskrant (20-3-02)

A harse, cold wind is blowing in the face of strong and social people in (left-wing) Europe. What has been achieved together yesterday, can be trown overboard (decommissioned) tomorrow. Forces of hate and intolerance are poisoning the political environment. Bundeskanzler Gerhard Schröder (SPD) on 18 March in his 'Den Uyl' lecture in Amsterdam, cited in the Volkskrant (23 Mar 2002)

After reading ... I felt affirmed about my conviction that Professor Pim really deserves the name of Jean-Marie le Pen, Filip Dewinter, Jörg Haider and the new Hans Janmaat of the Netherlands.
Jan Blokker in the Volkskrant (25 Mar 2002)

Rotterdam is not only the birth craddle of the Pim Fortuyn movement, but also a city with a heart. The Council of Churches in the Netherlands (Raad van Kerken)
a.o. in the manifesto 'Voor een humaan bestaan' (11 Apr 2002)

Fortuyn is part of a group of recent fascist leaders like Haider, Dewinter, Le Pen. It is characterized by an enormous cult around the leader - Führer, Deuce - of the pre-war period. Fortuyn strives for the same charism and radiation. Peter Storm in De Socialist (April 02)

If one starts to flirt with Fortuyn (ideas), then in the Netherlands we will experience the same awakening as in France. There they got Le Pen, we will wake up with Fortuyn. Ad Melkert (PvdA) on 25 April in Emmen, cited in Het Financiële Dagblad (25 Apr 2002)

Nationalists believe that building a fence around their country will keep all problems outside. That is a dangerous thought. Prime-minister Wim Kok on the party meeting on 1 Mai in Maastricht, cited in the NRC Handelsblad (2 Mai 2002)

The Pim Fortuyn party chooses for the right of the strong.
Ad Melkert (PvdA) on the party meeting on 1 Mai in Maastricht,
cited in the NRC Handelsblad (2 Mai 2002)

I foresee a risk: that the right wingers and the strongest will dominate our future. That's clearly the bottom line of the Pim Fortuyn movement. I do not sleep well, thinking about the future of the Netherlands. Prime-minister Wim Kok in an interview with GPD-newspapers (2 Mai 2002)

Can you imagine him, standing next to Schröder, Chirac and Blair?
If this will ever be reality, the Netherlands shall be blamed end laughed at throughout Europe.
Euro-Commissioner Frits Bolkestein (VVD) on a party meeting (1 Mai 2002)

If in the near future Fortuyn will be prime-minister, then on the 4th of Mai (remembrance day) he shall be at the Dam (Amsterdam) waiting to lay a wrath in front of the statue for the war victims... He, the man who says the Islam is a backward religion, that people from Turkey and Morocco are not part of modern society. It is an honour of the Netherlands not to discriminate, not preferring one culture above another. To treat people on the basis of equality in an open society. That we try to keep xonephobists and racists at bay. It is a great shame to be forced, after 60 years, to remind a politician in our midst of this history. Comment by the chief-editor of the NRC Handelsblad (6 Mai 2002), the day Pim Fortuyn was murdered bij Volkert van de Graaf at 18.00 hrs on the Mediapark in Hilversum. Remember this day after the 4th of May (rememberance of the dead of the 2nd World War) and the 5th of May for the liberation of Europe from the nazi's.