All language subtitles for Pim Fortuyn - Death Of A Populist.2010

The Netherlands government, and I think

this is a bloody shame,
are creating a climate

in which I'm being demonized personally.

If anything should happen to me,

and I'm happy to be given
this opportunity to say,

if something happens to me
they will all be responsible.

They won't be able to
wash their hands of it

by saying, "It wasn't me
who carried out the attack,"

because it is they who created the climate

in which it could happen.

It must stop.

May 2002.

A national election will
take place in Holland

in a matter of days.

A maverick, a newcomer, Pim Fortuyn

has challenged the Dutch
political system of consensus

and entered the election
under his own banner.

For years, the long
established political parties

have lived in cozy coalition
and brushed problems

under the carpet.

Pim Fortuyn has decided to change all that.

He wants to confront the
problems that face Holland

before they explode.

His opponents have
branded him a right-winger,

and racist.

Because of that, Pim
Fortuyn has become the target

for assassination.

At your service.

Pim Fortuyn was
picking up massive support

of all shades and colors.

His rivals in total alarm.

The country was always
a model of tolerance.

Suddenly it's alight
with conflicting emotion.

But five days before the election,

Pim Fortuyn will be hit by five bullets

in the head and chest

and lie dying in a Hilversum car park.

The killer would be arrested immediately.

Apparently a lone assassin
caught with the smoking gun

in his hand.

Holland was in a state of total shock.

Many refused to believe
that this was the act

of a lone gunman.

It must be a conspiracy

to eliminate Pim Fortuyn from the election

to preserve the status quo.

I find it sad.

No politician managed
to silence him with words.

The only way to do it, finally,

was like this.

I find it sad.

Very very sad.

Pim Fortuyn
wants Dutch politics

to be more confrontational.

For eight years, Holland
has been governed by the

Social Democrats in
coalitions with other parties

of the left.

Traditionally, the country

has been run by discreet compromise.

This club does not air problems.

It's as if they don't exist.

Fortuyn insists there is a deep malaise

to be faced and corrected.

But he is up against an
orchestrated campaign

by the press and the
long established parties.

They say he is a danger to democracy.

This is not just the right.

This is the extreme right.

His
opponents say his policies

have been designed just to pull a crowd.

They call him an outrageous populist.

I am not a populist at all.

But how many times has
that been held against me

in the press?

When I speak, I don't say

just the things that people want to hear

in order to make myself popular.

I also say many things
against the ordinary people too,

whether they like to hear them or not.

Politicians are always boring.

They are careful not to say anything wrong.

Now here is a guy who was
trying to say everything wrong

because he thought it was right

and the others were
sort of hiding the truth

and lying, so for many people,

seeing this person act against the boring

arrogant Dutch politicians
was a party, it was joy.

He was a man who refused to play

by the normal rules political debate

which applied in the Netherlands.

I remember one very famous
TV political debate program.

There was Pim Fortuyn sitting alongside

all the classical political leaders.

The Christian Democrats, the liberals,

the socialists, and
several minority parties.

Fortuyn made them all look ridiculous.

They were all in stuffy old suits and ties

lined up one after the other,

obviously used to
speaking the same old stuff

between themselves.

And all of a sudden, someone arrived

with a physique which
carried very well on TV,

shaved head, dressed in Italian style,

personifying exactly
what the Dutch are not.

He has savoie faire,

he was extroverted, even pretentious.

And so he broke all the
normal rules of political debate.

Fortuyn became a star
in a country without stars,

apart from a few sportsmen.

May the
sixth begins like any other

at the Rotterdam villa
Pim Fortuyn has called

the Palazzo di Pietro.

He lives in style,

a lover of all things Italian,

the house reflects his
ego and his refinement.

He bathes and then carefully chooses

the right Italian suit and tie

and English shoes to wear.

He has his image as Holland's
best dressed man to maintain.

He drinks coffee from the finest porcelain,

the same set as the Swedish Royal Family.

Pim is openly and extrovertly gay.

The love of his life was a painter

and though they've separated,

his works decorate Pim's home.

At the Palazzo di Pietro,

every room is linked to
a central sound system,

so the arias of Maria Callas,

the Operas and the works of Vivaldi

can follow him everywhere.

He'd long admired President John F Kennedy,

he cherished the idea of
becoming a Dutch version

of his hero.

Pim Fortuyn checks his schedule,

another long day of
electioneering lies ahead.

We set off from here
in Rotterdam as always.

I'd park the car out here

and him and I were walking towards it.

That particular morning a
large group had gathered

on the other side of the hill.

And several kids were
shouting hey Pim, insulting like.

Pim said, come on Hans, let's go over.

Pim crossed to the other pavement

and Pim started speaking to them.

"Hey kids what's up?"

And he went directly into
a conversation with them

and turns the situation around.

It became very friendly.

The youngsters liked it too.

In fact, Pim wasn't really
understood by a lot of people

because a hate campaign
had been organized against him

by the establishment.

His home
was in liberal neighborhood,

but he was not accepted by everyone.

Yeah he used to pass us in his car.

No one around here respected him.

A lot of times spat at
his car as he passed.

The kids were from the
school opposite Pim's house.

When we finished chatting to
them he set off for breakfast.

Next in the diary,

an intimate radio chat

with the star presenter Rudi Von Wilde.

The interview was to be live

and has been widely publicized.

Everyone knows that Pim Fortuyn

would be at Hilversum
Media park this afternoon.

And in spite of his notoriety

he had never been given protection

by the security services.

Another car is converging on Hilversum.

Volkert van der Graaf, a
young animal rights activist

is making the same rendezvous.

He's armed with a fully loaded star pistol

and has a map of the media park

on which he wrote the time
of Pim Fortuyn's interview.

On the way we bought some
chips and some cold drinks

at a service station and
we sat by the roadside.

With hindsight in view,
what happened later,

it's hard to think that at that moment

just 10 kilometers away his
killer Volkert van der Graaf

was busy loading his revolver

and wiping off his fingerprints.

Fortuyn
is in excellent spirits,

in spite of his political inexperience

and the racist smear
campaign by his opponents,

the public are rallying to him.

Today's opinion polls tipped him

to be the next Prime Minister of Holland.

Pim Fortuyn was born in Selsun.

A small town in the north of Holland.

The family were middle class,

the pillars of the local
Catholic community.

His father was authoritarian and distant

so his mother was his prime influence.

But according to strict family protocol,

he was not allowed to
cuddle or even touch her.

Indeed it was only on her deathbed

that they finally embraced.

Pim was a brilliant student who rose

to university professor in sociology.

He made a fortune in
management consultancy,

as a writer on social
and economic problems,

and as a public speaker.

But he felt his destiny was in politics.

His strong point was
his phenomenal ability

to analyze problems.

He not only analyzed but
he always found a solution.

And when he was faced with
heavy and complicated problems,

he had a talent for creating
and leading teams of experts.

He knew how to motivate, he
was a man of enormous charisma

and he was enthusiastic
in everything he did.

He was dissatisfied with his life.

He wanted to be a politician,
but he didn't manage

to play a big role in any of the parties.

And he had been a member of many of them,

from the left to the right.

So he was sort of alone and frustrated.

But he was also very clever
and he was a public speaker,

he earned substantial money by it.

You have here a combination of insecurity

and arrogance and what do
you have to lose in that position.

You have enough money,
and you feel frustrated

about what happened in you life, you're 54.

I have in other words, nothing to lose.

He was obviously homosexual.

Homosexual right up to his ears.

He had many relationships.

When he was enjoying a
relationship he could be very happy,

good humor and nice with everyone.

But when he had no one
he could be very coarse,

he could have horrible moods.

He had very pronounced highs and lows,

and because I was his friend
I could hear straight away

just by the tone of his voice
what kind of mood he was in.

He was something special.

This is one of
Pim Fortuyn's favorite gay bars

in Rotterdam where he'd
come to put the pressures

of business and politics aside.

His gayness was to become a strong point

in his election campaign.

He played on his homosexuality

to show his liberal tendencies.

Everyone accepted his sexual nature.

He was totally accepted.

He didn't try to hid it.

He spoke about his homosexuality openly

and everyone accepted it.

Women took him under
their wing, mothered him

as is often the case with women and gays.

The men, well, they found
what he had to say amusing.

The gay bars he frequented
were certainly not places

he would go to talk politics.

People
liked the idea of having

a gay prime minister.

He's our gay, a new type of politician.

The proof of tolerant, open minded talent.

You're one of the first
public figures in Holland

to admit that you
frequent certain gay clubs.

I do that for two reasons,

first of all I visit these
clubs very rarely,

and I go primarily because I assume

that I can be of help to
those who find it difficult

to admit their homosexuality.

The second reason?

I speak openly because
that way I can't be blackmailed,

and that's very important.

In all my interviews I
say yes, it's true that I go

to these places from time to time.

But I never speak about what goes on there.

Pim Fortuyn was
determined to enter politics

and his main chance came
when he composed a party called

Left Bar Rotterdam.

Livable Rotterdam.

And stood for the municipal elections.

Here he could test out his
ideas for Holland in general.

While electioneering to
control his home town.

He harnessed public disquiet
following September 11th

and said the most serious undercurrents

related to immigration.

The fact that we have never been able

to discuss immigration
in normal, open debate

is entirely the fault
of the ruling socialists.

Many people thought that the government

was sort of too tolerant
in allowing immigrants in

and not reacting on the problems of housing

and criminality that were
caused by immigrants.

And gradually, more and more people

who were associating criminality
and other social problems

with immigration.

Full prisons, waiting lists in hospitals,

because many immigrants
also needed medical service,

and petty crime on the streets,

especially by Moroccans.

That was their primary association.

He was the right person
because he was not allied

to anybody and he could
say things in a very easy

and simple way.

So he was chocolate for the people.

And they preferred
chocolate more than rice.

This is the headquarters

of the Livable Rotterdam
party at city hall.

His plan to run the
city was his first step,

then to go for national government.

The campaign was based
entirely on his personality.

I will say what I do, and do what I say.

Refreshing words for
the disillusioned elector.

In Rotterdam it was
always ruled by consensus.

Always politically hyper correct.

With the socialist and communist in power.

They never listened to the people.

Even though Rotterdam was
becoming more and more dangerous

in certain districts.

There were tensions between racial groups

and all of that was being ignored.

It couldn't continue.

Politics is supposed
to serve the population.

The people in the streets,

and so we said it was time to
give a voice to these people.

They had to be listened to and that's why

we created this party.

Livable Rotterdam became
the voice of these people.

Where is all this coming from Hans?

This type of discussion
has always been taboo.

I don't underestimate
this problem with security

but I insist that there are no racial

no go areas in Rotterdam.

So you moved houses for
no reason Mr. Rosenmoller?

We have to be serious about this.

No there was a reason, be serious.

I am very serious, you moved out.

Me, I still live here.

Alright, show me the no go areas.

Pim Fortuyn
won by a landslide.

Now he had to counter
accusations that he was nothing more

than a fancy public speaker.

He had to transfer his words into deeds

and show that a new tough,
political era had begun.

I would say that we are witnessing

a radical change of attitude.

We're no longer in a nice cozy atmosphere,

we have started a new
type of dialogue which says,

you have come here, you are
here, and you are welcome here

and we will provide all the means necessary

for you to integrate in
the best possible way.

But we expect things from you also.

A lot of energy and a lot of enthusiasm.

I would say that this is a
clear change of direction.

This is the end of nanny state,

we'll start with the
principle that the people

who made the effort to come
here have already shown

a lot of energy, and this
energy needs to be directed

towards something positive.

Proper integration and
achievement of a social position

in our society.

The jubilant
Pim Fortuyn decided

that he'd made sufficient impact

to go for national elections.

He mounted his own party the LPF.

He invited friends with
no political experience

to stand and scared away
politicians from the party.

At your service.

Fortuyn made
a huge media impact.

So different from the rest,
charismatic perspective,

a hugely experienced public speaker,

an expert in body language,
all the tricks of the trade

of business consultant.

His manifesto read like a management plan.

I've noticed that during these debates

as soon as your criticized
for the weaker points

in your argument you start play acting

and you never answer the
question, that is your problem.

No politician really liked him
because he was threatening,

he was dangerous, he
could turn the political system

upside down.

And on the other hand he was
afraid about what he was doing

and what would be the consequences.

He probably on the one hand wanted

to become the prime minister and have

the country under control
and live in this sort of

small palace that is reserved
for the prime minister.

But he was also afraid that
he wouldn't be able to do it,

that he wouldn't be able to control it,

that he would get angry at people,

that he would be impatient,
that he would be emotional.

And he was an emotional man.

Pim Fortuyn's main target
continued to be immigration,

the problems of social
security, unemployment,

and public safety
could be laid at it's door.

In certain towns like Rotterdam,

there was an immigrant majority.

In the past it had been, come
to Rotterdam, you're welcome.

First came the old
colonies, then the Turks,

then the Moroccans until
finally more than one million

in a country of just 16 million.

Half the immigrants were unemployable.

They couldn't speak dutch,

although they'd been living here for years.

80 percent of prisoners were immigrants.

According to him the cause

had to be confronted and corrected.

But Pim Fortuyn went one bridge too far

when he proposed scrapping
article one of the constitution

which forbids racial discrimination.

The country is full and this is causing

more and more problems.

So we should close the frontiers.

You're a bad loser.

How's that?

Tell us about
how you reacted to Rosenmoller

at the end?

You are petty minded madam.

Fortuyn arrived
like a bull in a china shop.

You won't
shake hands with anyone

that's made remarks
about you that you don't like,

is that it?

I will not shake hands
with someone who implies

that I am a racist.

Currently with the phrase

that he is best known for.

The Netherlands is full.

He pushed a button stirring up something

that was simmering in Dutch society

which would soon explode.

People were seriously
questioning the presence

of immigrants in the country.

Pim Fortuyn came straight out with it.

He said we couldn't mop the floor

while the tap was still flowing.

So our idea was simple.

Keep our frontiers closed
as firmly as possible

except for true political refugees.

After that we'd have the
time to completely integrate

the people who are
already here into society.

Pim Fortuyn
had played the media game

to get where he was.

Certainly in the new
world and national election

their star turned sour.

The media changed their stance.

He was incensed when a
inland called him inferior to a pig

because he was homosexual.

He lashed back, his lands
and culture left in the past.

Leave targets society has set.

He explained he was fear about Islam

on a local Muslim TV channel.

Why do you think that
Islam is a backward culture?

I think that for eastern Europe

as well as for other countries

such as Spain, Italy, France, and Germany

and our own country, it's
going to cause a huge problem

in the near future.

Because it is a question of a culture clash

which is not only happening
in eastern countries

but is happening below
the surface right here.

In what way, I'm really
trying to understand.

What is developing here
is a kind of inverse apartheid.

And I think that this is not
good, and it shouldn't exist.

It's necessary to find a solution,

the only way to find a
solution is to talk about it.

The people who've lived here for centuries

with their own culture don't
have any more legal rights

than the others and I
think that's not acceptable.

Culturally they should have the right

to keep their country a it
is, that's what I'm saying.

And what's wrong with that,
it's like that in every country

in the world but here, why
shouldn't it be possible?

Do you think that Holland...

Do you really think Turkey
would accept the same thing?

If we Dutch people went
there in huge numbers,

millions of us, and then
we insisted in keeping

our own identity and our own culture,

what do you think they would say?

Over there they can't
even get on with the Curds

even though their cultures are closer.

The point is that the
racism label was used

to not argue, not feeling forced to argue

but against the ideas of the man

but to escape from arguing against him.

It was possible at any stage in my view,

and I was amazed that it didn't happen,

to point out where Fortuyn was wrong

or where this or that politician
thought he was wrong.

But they didn't.

They said simply, this is unacceptable,

you can not say this.

Ann Frank would turn in her grave.

The first signs that things

were running out of hand.

Prime minister, you are the president

of all the Dutch people and therefore

you are also my prime minister.

We wish to lead an electoral
battle without being demonized.

It could've been an
assassination attempt.

You could see why I was so scared.

It wasn't the cake, although
it was really disgusting.

Was there excrement in it?

I don't really know
but it was disgusting.

I heard there excrement in it.

What I can tell you is
it didn't do me any harm.

But it was very humiliating.

But you haven't taken into consideration

because it's never on television

all the threats that are
arriving to my letterbox,

it's really not pleasant.

You say be compared
with the left or the right,

so which party can we compare yours to?

The press
stepped up the pressure

and all of a sudden the
story became international.

Denigration issue,

someone said, Mr. Pim Fortuyn

he is immigrant enemy number one, are you?

One immigrant in five
voted for me in Rotterdam,

how could that be possible?

According to university studies

it is in fact that in Holland
75 percent of journalists

belong to the left and therefore sympathize

with the parties in power.

There are direct connections between them.

It doesn't sit level with the journalists

to damage the political parties.

We tried to compare
Fortuyn to Jean-Marie Le Pen

but I think that was an
error because if you set aside

the thundering side of he personality

and his ability to convey simple messages,

messages that sound well on television

there are really no other
points of comparison.

Fortuyn developed
arguments that you could class

as being to the right,
even the extreme right,

but he was equally capable
of developing theories

that you could call radical or liberal

which other extreme right
wing leaders from Europe

wouldn't associate with.

No, it was a new and
different kind of message

that he was offering.

War was declared.

Fortuyn picked up the gauntlet

and threw it back at the press.

And he was not one to mince his words.

You journalists should
stop meddling in politics,

just report the facts.

We're in a democracy here, yes or no?

Yes.

Okay then.

Another journalists has made your lists.

I have no lists.

I was aware that Pim was
constantly being threatened

and I think that the government
had a heavy responsibility

because they did not protect him.

They should've given
him much better protection

but because he represented a danger

to the established order,
I think they were negligent

and they simply didn't do it.

The words of his mother
were always in his head.

"If you become president,
I hope the same thing

doesn't happen to you as
happened to President Kennedy."

In fact, he was very
well aware that something

could happen to him.

When he was alone at home in the evening,

he was really quite afraid.

And Harmon, his butler
was always kept around

and instantly available.

In fact the two of them
were terrified to death.

Once more he kept an armory in his bedroom,

and he wouldn't have done that for nothing.

Do you have any idea

how this is all going to end?

Yeah, I can tell how all this goes.

Will it end well?

Yes it certainly will end well.

Obviously I don't know for sure,

but my sentiments tell
me that it will all end well.

May the 6th, 2002.

An animal activist is
shadowing Pim Fortuyn,

the man just tipped to be
Holland's next prime minister.

Pim's on his way to Hilversum Media Park

for a live radio interview.

But Volkert van der Graaf
has arrived ahead of him.

Armed with a fully charged revolver

wiped of finger prints and
concealed in a plastic bag,

he hangs around outside,
awaiting his moment.

Up to what age
would you like to live?

I don't think much of that,

but when I was 14, or 15 I thought I'd like

to live long to 86, or 87,
that kind of stayed in my head

to the age I'd like to live to.

My mother was nearly 85 when she died

and my father was 87,
so it's entirely possible.

While Rudi and he were
chatting I was in the car

listening to the discussion at the time.

So I was already sitting in
the car when I heard two shots.

I looked out and saw what was happening.

Pim collapsed to the
ground and the assassin

shot him several more times.

I thought this is bad, bad, bad!

I jumped quickly from the car

and immediately started running after him.

He turned and faced me
and fired into the ground

and then I continued running after him.

If someone touched Pim it was as if

he had touched me to.

So I chased this man and I used my portable

to alert police.

The chase was bizarre
and dangerous but at the end

he came face to face with
several policemen who lept him.

And it was all over.

He gave himself up.

Pim Fortuyn
had been struck by five bullets

in the head, neck and chest.

An ambulance was called
by the radio and TV journalists

who had witnessed the attack.

It arrived at Media Park nine minutes after

the emergency call but
it couldn't find it's way in

for another six minutes so 15 minutes past

before he received medical
aid and it was already too late.

Volkert van der Graaf who
tracked and killed Pim Fortuyn,

would later be condemned
to just 18 years in prison

for the murder which
he said he'd acted alone.

His action was triggered
because he supposed Pim Fortuyn

supported fur farming.

He wanted to protect the vulnerable animals

in Dutch society including animals.

Holland was in profound
shock, an outpouring of grief

was followed by a wave of anger.

Few believed that van
der Graaf had acted alone.

Crowds chanted assassin
in front of the prime minister

Wim Kok residence, accusing
him of creating a media climate

of hate which was virtually
an invitation for the killing.

I am lost for words, I am broken.

Broken by what has
happened today in our country.

In Netherlands, a tolerant country,

even there are opposing views in politics

as in any democracy there is the respect

for the opinions of others.

All of which implies that
we confront each other

with words and not with bullets.

Forces of
law and order have arrived

with their dogs.

But the people are determined

to cross over in spite of that.

These pictures are coming to you live.

I was at city hall along
with the other politicians

when I learned that Pim
had been assassinated.

I didn't want to believe it.

I remember that we prayed
together and everyone was crying.

And then came the anger, an enormous anger.

We very quickly had to get back to work

because there were many
disturbances in the city,

yes, and for the whole week that followed.

So we had to work flat out.

We were in a kind of drunken state.

I find it sad, no politician
managed to silence him

with words, the only way
to it finally was like this.

I find it sad, very very sad.

I have very mixed emotions.

I have lost a friend and so I was very sad,

but at the same time I
was afraid for myself.

What was going to happen?

The police protecting you for weeks on end?

I had to try and explain
many things to my family

because my children believed

that I was going to be killed too.

At the same time it was
necessary to continue

running the city, to pull
the population together

so there would be no
more disturbances in town.

I had to deal with all these emotions.

The assassination of such
an important, rising politician

is a shock for all the other politicians,

for the population, and also
an assassination on democracy.

Political
assassination had been virtually

unknown in Holland.

Even after September 11th, and in spite

of the strongly Islamic community,

Holland still hoped to
continue it's peaceful ways.

Now it joined the real world.

In a way it was the
second Fortuyn revolution

because the Dutch people were
sparked by what had happened.

There was a state funeral
which was extremely theatrical.

He had been a man who
had stage managed his life,

stage managed his politics,
I think that in directing

his followers, stage managed his death too.

There was this huge white hurst that toured

the heart of Rotterdam.

There was a requiem mass.

I'd say there was a kind of Diana effect.

They were
all there for the service.

Those who ridiculed and derided him.

Those who branded him a racist.

And those who feared
as a winner he'd put them

on the political sideline.

The national elections
were delayed by two weeks

to let temperatures cool.

Pim Fortuyn's party, the
LPF's swept in with 26 seats.

More than one third of the votes.

In Holland, enough to govern in coalition

with the Christian Democrats.

But three months later
the party was in disarray.

They had to resign, they were leaderless

and couldn't pull it together.

His party came to power
but as with many other lineups

of his kind, he was not
used to political management.

He had no experienced politicians.

So the main problem
for the Pim Fortuyn list

was they they divided
up the parliament into

numerous political currents.

They couldn't find a direct
replacement for Fortuyn,

and so, just a few months
later there was a political crisis

and the Pim Fortuyn list had
to resign from government.

This put parliament in crisis, and today

the party is excluded from
the Netherland's political system

and that could last for some time.

There'd been a certain phenomenon,

a bit like a pan of milk,
was just coming to a boil,

then there's this kind of
foam which raises rapidly,

stays a moment and then drops down.

There is something
changed in the Netherlands,

and the rise and
assassination of Pim Fortuyn

was a symbol of that.

Which means that
politics in the Netherlands

became sharper, more direct.

Problems are addressed, which beforehand

were a bit taken away,
and not really articulated.

I think it's due to what Pim Fortuyn did,

and I think we could
be grateful as a whole.

Many of the other parties
have picked his matters.

The first reaction when he was assassinated

was to plug in his name, and to be frank,

they demonized him nonstop.

After his assassination they were shocked,

nowadays we see in political debate

there is a lot of support
for the ideas and honesty

of Pim Fortuyn.

Even the liberal parties
and the socialists say,

now your party is superfluous

because we have learned our lesson.

Since that
time, Holland has become

a different country.

They ideas of Pim Fortuyn, live on.

They were grabbed and appropriated

by the established
parties who wish to steal

his popular vote.

Social security handouts
have been pulled back.

This is no longer the nanny state,

there are raids on districts
with illegal immigrants

and terrorist cells are likely to be found.

Thousands more policemen on the streets.

And there are harsher punishments

for street crime offenders.

New floating prisons
have been built to house

the illegals, they are
flown back to their country

of origin with illative.

Identity card checks are commonplace.

It's a crime not to carry your card.

In some zones, there are
stop and search routines.

But more than ever there is
unease in the immigrant suburbs

the question of identity is at stake.

Should these people
hang on to their own culture,

or try to be white Dutch?

Today it is an obligation, even for those

who have lived in Holland for 20, 30 years

or even 40 years to take language classes.

Each immigrant has to pay for the privilege

of learning Dutch.

If they pass the state exams, half the cost

will be reimbursed.

Three or four years
ago, people lived in peace.

We really felt at home here.

We felt we were all Dutch people together.

But since the assassination of Pim Fortuyn,

totally different atmosphere
reigns in Holland,

especially related to muslims.

Those who go to the mosques
and practice their religion

we don't feel at home anymore.

They expect people who've
been here for maybe 40 years

to start to learn the language.

People who've lived here for 40 years

without causing any problems,

without any criminal tendencies,

it's obligatory that
they have to integrate.

But we ask ourselves, integrate into what,

adapt to what?

Yeah this idea about
integration is of course ridiculous

in my view.

I mean it's so vague, so
unspecified that it is easy

for everybody to agree with it.

Let's go through the list.

If you want that immigrants speak Dutch,

of course everybody will agree with it

and probably many immigrants,

mostly will agree with that too.

Now if you really want
Muslims to become similar

to the Dutch, what do
you then ask from them?

To give up being Muslims?

Not very unlikely that will ever happen.

To follow the Dutch soccer team,

and be enthusiastic about it?

No, the newspapers of
yesterday show that Moroccans

are in favor even of the
Germans or the Russians

or whoever are playing against the Dutch

rather than the Dutch.

I mean they're simply against it.

They're against orange to
try to reinforce their identity.

So, nobody so far has
specified what it means

that immigrants should,
how do you say, integrate,

assimilate and what they exactly want.

So what finally
is the legacy of Pim Fortuyn.

He opened Pandora's box by
insisting in bringing problems

to the surface he has perhaps made Holland

a more dangerous place.

In November, 2004 Pim Fortuyn's soulmate

Theo Van Gogh was assassinated.

He was a cinema director and talk show host

who was even more outspoken that Pim.

He believed that airing
the problems of racism.

And he used crude and
coarsely insulting ways to do it.

A provocateur, incredibly the two men

who often shared a television studio

were to meet the same fate.

Van Gogh had his throat
cut by a young Moroccan

while out riding his bike.

A note was pinned to his shirt

declaring the revenge of Islam.

Holland relived the shock.

This simply could not be happening again.

The country was swept
by anti Muslim attacks.

Islamic schools and
mosques were firebombed.

Xenophobia mounted in all it's ugliness.

Just before he was
killed, Van Gogh directed

a TV film called submission.

An attack on muslim attitudes toward women.

Forced marriages, humiliation, brutality,

he did not holdback.

A beaten, near naked woman with phrases

from the Koran written across her body.

The Islamic community was outraged.

The writer and producer
was a member of Parliament,

Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somalian

who'd escaped an arranged
marriage by fleeing to Holland.

She renounced Islam.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali also
received death threats.

Today she lives in hiding
with round the clock protection.

While others were being
conscientiously silent

Theo made himself heard loud and clear.

It was terrible to admit

that some people take recourse in violence.

The convergence of opinion
is the basis of democracy.

I continue to believe that only open debate

will result in peaceful solutions.

Ladies and gentlemen, I
continue to believe in that.

It is crazy what's
happening now in a country

which nobody has been
killed for political or religious

reasons for the last 320 years.

That's to say that we've
gone backwards 320 years.

I think probably even more than that

because I have the
impression that we've reverted

to the middle ages.

When people were
killed for religious reasons.

It hasn't happened here since the 1600's.

Pim Fortuyn,
some say he was a fast talker

with easy solutions, others
that he had real substance

and he could've changed
the course of Dutch,

and maybe European politics.

Since his death he has been rehabilitated,

even deified by the press.

In a recent TV poll, Fortuyn was voted

the most important person ever

to serve in Dutch parliament.

He was buried near
his holiday home in Italy.

To this day, many of his friends believe

that a wider conspiracy
lay behind his death.

That a fanatic was
manipulated to do the job.

If you dwell on the idea of conspiracy

then you find it hard to
do business with those

in the national government.

Because evidently former
ministers and politicians

have now returned to power.

They've all stated that
there was no such conspiracy

and it's better to believe them.

If you didn't, you wouldn't be able

to work with those people
and you would no longer

be able to run the city or the country.

But was there a conspiracy,
I wouldn't dare say.

The Rotterdam
home of Pim Fortuyn

has been kept exactly as it
was at the moment of his death.

The clocks have been stopped in reverence.

Pim Fortuyn, was he a political visionary,

or simply a media star, we will never know.