The Backlash

The runup to the Backlash

Highly theoretical, this backlash against the Leftist and immigrant alliance, you 'll say. The 90ies: Growing unease During times of strong economic expansion The 1990ies, which were years of rapid economic expansion and high levels of immigration, the latter by a combined influx of asylum seekers and family reunification. The Dutch public could not express its discontent with the high levels of immigration in the press nor elect any credible anti immigration parties into the Binnenhof or Dutch parliament. Although the VVD, these days the liberal-conservative party of Hirsi Ayaan Ali had in Frits Bolkestein a leader who was the only one who dared to break the deafening silence on immigration. During the 1998 elections he was the leader of his party and gained large amounts of votes with his Conservative vision. However, Frits Bolkestein left national politics immediately after the elections and became the Director General of Directorate 4 of the EU, dealing with competition, monopolies and cartels. The population had been robbed of its only vent of opposition against Multiculturalism and mass immigration.

The year 2000: The Multicultural drama

Then in the year 2000 Labour Party intellectual Paul Scheffer wrote a opinion piece on Multiculturalism and the increasing ethnic hostility and separation between Third worlders and ethnic Dutch. The piece was called "The Multicultural Drama" and exposed the sordid reality of ethnic fragmentation and separation in The Netherlands. The expose caused an outcry and lots of debate amongst intellectuals.

Local politics: Bypassing the political cartel

Meanwhile in local politics in towns and villages accross the Dutch Rijk local non-nationwide parties were cropping up, with all kinds of veterans and newcomers to politics. These parties could be Leftist or Rightist or more or less ideology free. Very often these politicians were hostile to immigration and opposed to the establishment of local Asylum seeker centres (AZC). Moreover they had policies that were often more hardline on law and order than had been customary in Dutch politics since 1972, when Dutch politicians both of the Right and the Left veered to the left becoming more Leftwing than the general population of the country. The much celebrated Liberalism of the Netherlands was a Liberalism of the elites and was not widely shared by the majority of the population. This had initially not been a major issue, but became more and more prominent in the minds of the voters. These local parties usually took on the name "Leefbaar (Livable) .... " with the name of the town or village substituted for the dots.

Local goes national

In 2000 a number of local politicians created a national list for all the "livable" parties. These politicians were all veterans of Leftist parties and had excellent strategic and networking skills. The national list was called "Livable Netherlands" indicating they wanted to take the local approach to the National level. The party program was pro-multicultural, but had a hard line approach on crime. In the minds of the public crime is connected to immigrants, partly due to experience, partly due to the hostility to strangers that is hardwired into our biology. They needed a popular public figure to be the face of the list and looked around amongst the ambitious cadres of establishment parties. But no establishment politician wanted to run for the Livable List. So they approached Pim Fortuyn, a former Marxist and right-wing columnist for Conservative weekly Elsevier. Fortuyn was in fact notorious for his stance on immigrants and before Fortuyn entered politics there had already been a anti Fortuyn poster campaign by artists. On the poster, done in Elsevier style a naked Fortuyn appeared with a Turkish fez on his head and wrapped in the national flag. The caption read: "the solution for the Multicultural drama: become WHITE". The Leefbaar honchos demanded that Fortuyn would drop his public stance on Immigration and Multiculturalism and would just run on his other ideas, about Law and Order, Education, Health care reform, decentralisation etcetera. This was where his ideas and the ideas of the Localists ran parallel. Fortuyn agreed. Snouck had always maintained that if a right wing movement would rise in The Netherlands it would have to be run by a Jew or a woman, otherwise the media would slaughter the incumbent. Fortuyn was a homosexual. It was clear from the beginning that the Leftist media cartel would try to serve their political masters as good as they could, but the fact that Fortuyn was a raging queer made them hesitant and insecure. Fortuyn did not conform to the Conservative stereotype. And Fortuyn was a homosexual who loved attention, cameras, to be in the centre of the action. The camera loved him back and every television interview meant a big boost in the number of viewers and Livable Netherlands rise in the polls was meteoric. Internet Forums where set up and sympathisers, rightwingers and malcontents who had been quiet for decades started to make acquaintance without needing the traditional media. So the media masters tried to media assasinate him. Already in the mid 90ies Marcel van Dam, head of the socialist VARA broadcasting channel had said during a debate that Fortuyn was reprehensible and disgusting.

The media attack the challenger

Now the media went into demonization overdrive. They asked needling questions about immigration and Multiculturalism and Fortuyn was not the man to remain quiet. Interviewed by Leftist daily "De Volkskrant" Fortuyn answered that if he could do it legally, he would not let 1 more Asylum seeker into the country. The next day this was on the frontpage of "De Volkskrant". And on that same day by the evening there had been a coup against Fortuyn by his former backers and was he fired as a leader of the "Livable Netherlands" list. Fortuyn collapsed and was picked up by his friend Theo van Gogh. Van Gogh told him to continue his crusade. However, it was only 3 months until the elections.

Rotterdam goes with Fortuyn

Because Livable Netherlands was a federation of many local parties it was possible for a number of these local parties to refuse to endorse the decision of Livable Netherlands central council. The Rotterdam List chose him as a party leader. Individuals of local parties around the Netherlands started setting up a new party, List Pim Fortuyn (LPF). And Fortuyn was campaigning again in Rotterdam. The Rotterdam elections now assumed national importance. Blue collar port city Rotterdam had been a Labour party stronghold for decades. The Labour Party had become arrogant as is the rule with unopposed elites. They were extremely pro-immigrant and Multiculturalist. The white citizens of Rotterdam were offered a political platform that addressed their concerns over crime, unfettered immigration and alieneation of ethnic Dutch from Multicultural society for the first time. They did not pass up the opportunity! Both blue collar and middle class voters flocked to the Leefbaar Rotterdam, despite the Leefbaar Rotterdam lack of administrative experience. Voters reckoned that it could not be worse than what they were used to. Also lots of people who had stopped voting (only 49 percent of whites voted in 1998) now voted Fortuyn. Leefbaar Rotterdam swept the Left away in the elections. Fortuyn now had a power base. The Leefbaar Rotterdam politicians are competent and their leader, Marko Pastors had worked with Fortuyn. This was when Fortuyn had been a public servant, in charge of the bank that gives Dutch students benefits and loans.

Fortuyn goes national again

Most of the problems that Fortuyn addressed are national problems and not local matters. Immigration. National identity and immigration. Fortuyn had to set his sight higher, on national politics. So in a few weeks a national party was created out of nowhere, requiring dozens of local party lists. Fortuyn tasked the Rotterdam leadership of his movement with creating a Rotterdam coalition to show everybody that his movement was to be taken serious.

The election in Rotterdam was on 9 april 2002. Fortuyns national campaign was gathering steam. There were debates on TV between the leaders of the 4 biggest parties and Fortuyn was on them as if his party had already taken part in real national elections. Every day he was on TV and radio, on local and national TV. With every debate his approval ratings went up. He seemed unstoppable. The mood in the country was expectant. Leftists started to ask Conservatives about their views on things! Leftist politicians were so scared of the blue voters that those who were living in working class areas left because they feared attacks. Blue collar workers held intimidating barbeques on the street in front of houses of Labour Party activists and officials. To reclaim their neighbourhoods. A slogan was heard: "nooit meer links" ("The Left never again").

His followers were debating on the internet forums. There were opinions on all kinds of matters. Strange and unusual ideas were put in the spotlight. There was intense opposition to Islam.

Tear down the Temple

For Conservatives it had been a sore point for a long time that all kinds of Leftist organisations with good intentions had received large annual subsidies since the 1970ies. Hardcore Conservative organisations such as the OSL (Legion of Veterans) had published lists of Leftist and Communist organisation and the subsidies they received. Amongst those many organisations for the protection of rights of squatters, immigrants and animals. In this way extreem Leftism had been a profitable lifestyle with lots of money to make propaganda and a home and a refuge for many people who needed to fight for a cause without having to worry about financing their armies.

Fortuyn announced that he would teardown their Temple. He would end the subsidies to the hundreds of subsidised Leftist organisations and he would do the same with subsidized organisations on the Right. There are no subsidized organisations on the Right. This would mean that thousands of people some of them already in their sixties, who had never had to work for a privatly funded organisation in their lives were threatenened in their livelyhoods and lifestyles. At the same time these people not only saw their world view under attack in the Media ("The Church of The Left" as Fortuyn called the House of the Media) but up to a fifth or even a third of the population coming out of hiding enthusiastically supporting him. Telling him to go further and say more naughty things about Muslims. "Hit that Imam again he is still moving".

Something had to be done and something was done.

I will continue with this piece when I got time (tomorrow). Little, insignificant persons demand that I eat with them and drink their wine. Twist Snouck's arm anytime.