The Dutch politicician murdered by A-R-T's ('animal rights terrorists', murder is not 'activism'
had a few other curious facets. Although roundly described as 'Right wing' by the American media, he was what AP calls 'Proudly Gay'.
Beware of the generalities Peter Jennings et al use. Wouldn't the third reich have been a different place if 'right wing' = 'proudly gay'?
I apologize if this digresses from hunting. The point is that we not only get but half the story, but that half is usually wrong.
Below is the obituary from the AP:
Pim Fortuyn
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) - Pim Fortuyn, a Dutch politician whose positions against immigration, high taxes and low government performance shifted the political agenda of the Netherlands, was shot dead Monday after giving a radio interview. He was 54.
Fortuyn's assassination came just nine days before a scheduled election in which polls forecast that his newly created party would upset the established political order and possibly win a place in the next coalition.
Proudly gay, admittedly temperamental and flamboyant, Fortuyn attracted a wide following by standing out against the gray background of mainstream politicians who frown on confrontation and favor quiet consensus. Impeccably dressed, he was seen constantly on television and magazine covers.
Recent polls suggested his party, ''Pim Fortuyn's List,'' would win 25 to 28 seats in the 150-member parliament in the May 15 election, enough to possibly bargain his way into the cabinet. But Fortuyn said he would shun a cabinet seat for himself unless he were made prime minister, saying it would be too hard for him to submit to another's leadership.
Fortuyn, a former academic, journalist and commentator, lifted the unspoken taboo against criticizing the long-standing policy of offering shelter to refugees, blaming immigrants for what many Dutchmen perceive as a rising crime rate. He singled out Muslims for refusing to adopt Dutch ways and fully integrate.
His policies put him in the same political category as France's Jean-Marie Le Pen and Austria's Joerg Haider - but he rejected those comparisons.
''My policies are multiethnic and certainly not racist,'' he said. ''I want to stop the influx of new immigrants. This way, we can give those who are already here the opportunity to completely integrate into our society.'' ###
