bryant

Pym Fortuyn's party is collapsing, which is no great surprise when you get right down to it. Fortuyn himself was assassinated this summer, right before the Dutch elections, which did not prevent his party from becoming the second largest party in the Dutch government. But without Fortuyn at the center of the party, it's dissolved into squabbles and factionalism.

What this says to me is that Fortuyn was never a politician. He was a charismatic figure who was able to assemble a coalition by force of personality, but he wasn't a politician. His party had no strength at the core, no ability to function without him.

There's no question that his death was tragic, but I'm pretty certain I'm correct in classifying the man as a right-wing demogogue.