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 at home and peace abroad, to the post-9/11 politics of the twenty-first century, defined first and foremost by identity, insecurity and polarisation. He was a politician from the future; people just didn’t know it.

My guest for this conversation today is the journalist Guus Valk (@apjvalk), the political editor of Dutch newspaper NRC. Guus recently released a six-part Dutch language podcast about Fortuyn, so it’s great to get his insights on him in English.  As well as discussing Pim, Guus and I discussed the surprisingly common political journey from far left to anti-Islam right taken among Fortuyn’s contemporaries, and the shapeshifting nature of the modern European far right.