Dutch defend liberal tradition

[bongme]

hi

Tuesday, 14 May, 2002

Dutch pundits and voters alike are convinced that the popularity of Pim Fortuyn's right-wing party, with its strident anti-immigration message, does not pose any threat to the country's centuries-old tradition of tolerance and liberalism.

The Netherlands will continue to be a European pioneer in its tolerance of prostitution, euthanasia, gay partnerships and soft drugs, they insist.

Mr Fortuyn, who branded Islam "backward" for its hostility towards homosexuality and its treatment of women - is even viewed as a defender of this liberal tradition, despite his calls to close the Netherland's borders to foreigners and oblige immigrants to integrate.

"The Dutch people are still very liberal," says Redmar Kooistra, a political commentator on Rotterdam's Algemeen Dagblad newspaper. "We don't have many conservatives, unlike the UK... and only a small part of the population is against gay marriages."

And voters are quick to correct any temptation to put Mr Fortuyn's in the same category as far-right leaders such as Jean-Marie Le Pen in France or Joerg Haider in Austria.

"I don't think there is a threat to liberalism - he himself was gay," said Ben Van Geffen, 37, of Rotterdam.

"He was not a racist or fascist like Le Pen or Haider," said the IT consultant. "We must make that clear to other countries."

Others are less bothered about the view of the Dutch abroad.

"I don't care a lot about what other countries think of Holland," says Michiel Kleuver, 25, a student in Rotterdam.

"In France, Italy, Germany - everywhere social democrats are losing. It's just a Europe-wide trend."

Fortuyn's legacy

Analysts are wondering whether Mr Fortuyn, widely praised for challenging the existing political culture and breaking long-standing taboos, will leave behind any durable legacy.

"For sure, the social democrats are getting a beating," says Frank Poortuyes, a political commentator with the daily De Volkskrant.

But he is not sure that Mr Fortuyn's party, List Pim Fortuyn, can produce a fundamental change in Dutch politics, where so many members of parliament are "bred in the system".

Ahmed Aboutaleb, director of the Forum Institute for Multicultural Development, thinks the election will however be "an earthquake in the political landscape".

He predicts that the popularity of List Pim Fortuyn will mean "a very unstable period" in Dutch politics.

But he also dismisses any notion of a general shift away from Dutch liberalism.

"Liberal values are very much accepted in Dutch society," he says.

Bongme