Dutch ghost story

For outside observers, the main interest in this week's general election in the Netherlands is not so much who won it but rather who did not. It is nine months since the charismatic populist, Pim Fortuyn, was murdered by a lone gunman during the last Dutch election campaign. Only a few days later, the party Fortuyn founded stormed from nowhere to take second place in the polls, winning 26 seats. The level of support obtained by the List Pim Fortuyn in May last year was only partly the result of sympathy for its slain leader. With his anti-establishment message, his tirades against business-as-usual, and his focus on the issues of concern closest to ordinary voters' hearts and pockets, Fortuyn broke the mould of traditional Dutch consensus politics.

This week's results plainly suggest that the old hierarchy of two, dominant mainstream parties has been resurrected. The Christian Democrats emerged as the largest party, with 44 seats, with Labour close behind. Fortuyn's party was cut back to only eight seats, punished for its irresponsible behaviour during a short period in government last year. It is good to see them go for, with Fortuyn laid low, they proved to have little positive to contribute. As is customary, Queen Beatrix will now invite party leaders to commence a protracted, tedious and familiar process of coalition-building.

This return of comfortable normality is a bit misleading. In his time, Fortuyn placed too much emphasis on race and identity. This led to inaccurate comparisons with France's far-right leader, Jean-Marie Le Pen, and Austria's Jörg Haider. Yet Fortuyn's belief that the smouldering issues of immigration, integration and crime must be squarely faced, and his ideas about the responsibilities as well as the rights of individuals to civil society clearly echoed to good effect across these latest hustings. It is odd to reflect that the late "Professor Pim" remains one of the best-known Dutch politicians and, perhaps, one of the most influential.