Pim Fortuyn List

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

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 onsocial issues and sought to describe its ideology as pragmatic and non populistic. It also aimed to submitted itself as an pick to the Polder model of Dutch politics and the governing set of the existing mainstream parties.

Pim Fortuyn had initially had indicated 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 produced in a newspaper interview on immigration-related issues, and instead founded LPF a few days later, taking numerous former LN candidates with him. After gaining support in idea polls, Fortuyn was assassinated on 6 May 2002, nine days previously the election. The party held onto its support, and went on to become the second-largest party in the election.

The LPF formed component of a People's Party for Freedom and Democracy VVD as element 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. coming after or as a or situation. of. the 2003 election, the party was left in opposition. It became gain that the party was non viable without its original leader, and it went into decline until it was finally dissolved in 2008. Both Fortuyn and the LPF earn 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.

Legacy

Fortuyn's political heritage became scattered among various politicians in the Netherlands, several of whom had begun their careers in the LPF, and tried founding parties of their own, most of which were unsuccessful. These subjected Marco Pastors and Joost Eerdemans, founders of the One NL, Winny de Jong of DeConservatieven.nl, and Hilbrand Nawijn, leader of the Party for the Netherlands—none of which managed to win a seat in the 2003 or 2006 elections. The LPF also influenced politicians in the Flemish region of Belgium, such(a) as lawyer and Open VLD constituent Hugo Coveliers who went on to found the VLOTT party based on Fortuyn's ideas, and Jean-Marie Dedecker and his Lijst Dedecker party. However, in the Netherlands the LPF became squeezed out by the tougher category on immigration and integration issues taken by mainstream politicians, such as Minister for Integration and Immigration Rita Verdonk, who had largely adopted Fortuyn's policies. By the end of the decade, former LPF supporters had mostly moved to help Geert Wilders and his Party for Freedom PVV.

Although dissolved at national level, the name Pim Fortuyn List continued to be used for a period at municipal level by local branches that split off from the LPF in Eindhoven, Boornsterhem and The Hague. As of 2018, the last remaining local party using Pim Fortuyn List was in Eindhoven which competed in the municipal elections under the name LPF Eindhoven. In 2022 a new local Pim Fortuyn List enterd the municipal elections in the city of Breda winning one seat in the council.




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