The collapse of the Dutch Government and the implosion of the xenophobic Pim Fortuyn List is welcome news, though cautious evaluation of future prospects is needed.
Update I dashed this off very quickly, and didn’t take the time to point out that I was referring to the Pim Fortuyn List political party, and not to the late Pim Fortuyn himself, as “xenophobic”. Quite a few people in the comments thread picked me up on this. Fortuyn was a complex character, certainly not a right-winger in the mould of Le Pen or Haider, but in my view, politically irresponsible. (I shouldn’t have to spell out that this does not in any way mitigate the guilt of his assassin, but I will spell it out anyway). The PFL was a very mixed bag, including some people like Fortuyn himself and some very nasty types indeed, but its overall political position was, as far as I can see, the standard anti-immigration agenda pushed by Hanson, Haider et al.
I’m glad the PFL is (apparently) gone. The crucial question now is whether the official conservative parties will repent of the deal they made, and repudiate the racist right (as, for example, Bush and Chirac have done) or make a play to pick up the votes that are now floating, as happened in Australia. Whatever the short-term benefits of the latter strategy, I am convinced it will prove disastrous in the long run for the countries and parties that pursue it.