Pim Fortuyn List

Pim Fortuyn List
Lijst Pim Fortuyn
AbbreviationLPF
Leader
Chairman
FounderPim Fortuyn
Founded14 February 2002; 22 years ago (2002-02-14)
Dissolved1 January 2008; 16 years ago (2008-01-01)
Split fromLivable Netherlands
HeadquartersSpaanse Kubus
Vlaardingweg 62
Rotterdam
Youth wingJonge Fortuynisten
ThinktankProf.Dr. W.S.P. Fortuynstichting
IdeologyClassical liberalism[1]
Conservative liberalism[1][2]
Fortuynism
Right-wing populism
Republicanism[1]
Euroscepticism[3][4]
Political positionRight-wing[5][1]
European Parliament groupUnion for Europe of the Nations
ColoursYellow and Blue
SloganAt your service! (2002), Geef ons een 2e kans (Give us a second chance, 2003)/Wij hebben lef, wij stemmen LPF (We have courage, we vote LPF) (2003)
Website
None

The Pim Fortuyn List (Dutch: Lijst Pim Fortuyn, LPF) was a right-wing populist[6][7] political party in the Netherlands named after its eponymous founder Pim Fortuyn, a former university professor and political columnist. The party was considered nationalist[3] as well as adhering to its own distinct ideology of Fortuynism according to some commentators.[8][9][1]

The LPF supported tougher measures against immigration and crime, opposition to multiculturalism, greater political reform, a reduction in state bureaucracy and was eurosceptic but differed somewhat from other European right-wing or nationalist parties by taking a liberal stance on certain social issues and sought to describe its ideology as pragmatic and not populistic. It also aimed to present itself as an alternative to the Polder model of Dutch politics and the governing style of the existing mainstream parties.[10][11]

Pim Fortuyn had initially had planned to contest the 2002 general election as leader of the Livable Netherlands (LN) party. He was however dismissed as leader of LN in February 2002 due to controversial remarks he made in a newspaper interview on immigration-related issues, and instead founded LPF a few days later, taking many former LN candidates with him. After gaining support in opinion polls, Fortuyn was assassinated on 6 May 2002, nine days before the election. The party held onto its support, and went on to become the second-largest party in the election.

The LPF formed part of a coalition government with the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) as part of the first Balkenende cabinet and was granted ministerial posts. However, internal conflicts in the LPF led to the coalition's break-up and fresh elections after a few months. Following the 2003 election, the party was left in opposition. It became clear that the party was not viable without its original leader, and it went into decline until it was finally dissolved in 2008. Both Fortuyn and the LPF have had a significant influence on changing Dutch public discourse on immigration, multiculturalism, and political reform, and went on to influence politicians in both the mainstream and newer political parties.

  1. ^ a b c d e Andeweg, R. and G. Irwin Politics and Governance in the Netherlands, Basingstoke (Palgrave) p.49
  2. ^ Priester, Karin (2012). Rechter und linker Populismus: Annäherung an ein Chamäleon. Campus Verlag. p. 231. ISBN 9783593397931.
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Moroska2009 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cas Mudde (2007). "A Fortuynist Foreign Policy". In Christina Schori Liang (ed.). Europe for the Europeans: The Foreign and Security Policy of the Populist Radical Right. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 217. ISBN 978-0-7546-4851-2.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Sunier2006 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Peter Starke; Alexandra Kaasch; Franca Van Hooren (2013). The Welfare State as Crisis Manager: Explaining the Diversity of Policy Responses to Economic Crisis. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 193. ISBN 978-1-137-31484-0.
  7. ^ Auke van Dijk; Frank Hoogewoning; Maurice Punch (2015). What matters in policing?: Change, values and leadership in turbulent times. Policy Press. p. 69. ISBN 978-1-4473-2695-3.
  8. ^ "Fortuynism without Fortuyn". The Economist. 28 November 2002.
  9. ^ Mudde 2007, pp. 213–214
  10. ^ "Interview with Belgium news agency". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-11.
  11. ^ Oliver, Mark (7 May 2002). "The shooting of Pym Fortuyn". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 May 2019.