The assassination of racist politician Pim Fortuyn unleashed a wave of hate in the Netherlands. It is directed against 'the left' (meaning anyone who opposes Fortuyn) and at the suspected assassin , the veganist Volkert van de Graaf. I have translated some of the reactions on a special anti-Volkert Forum, at  http://volkert.bramos.mine.nu/

It's true that surges of hate mail are common on the Internet, but I hope these quotes will correct the false image of the Netherlands as a 'tolerant society'. These are the true voices of Fortuyn's supporters.

Fortuyn appealed to a racist block vote of perhaps 10% or 20% of the voters. It seems that 20% is about the maximum electorate for anti-immigrant parties, as with Le Pen in France. The difference is that it took Le Pen 20 years to reach that level, while Pim Fortuyn did in in six weeks, before he was shot. This block of disaffected voters is ultimately interested in only one issue: immigration. It is not a protest vote, it is an ideologically racist voting block. They are comparable to the potential BNP voters in Britain: it is no use trying to placate them from the left (more nurses) or from the right (more police), as Tony Blair tries to do. They will still be disaffected, what they want is 'wogs out' and nothing less.

Within this group is a minority who are committed to barbaric ideas, and prepared to use violence, when they think they can get away with it. These are the people who want public castrations of paedophiles, that sort of thing, and who actively support racist attacks. Again this is not just in the Netherlands, riots against asylum seekers are a typical expression of this minority, and occured in several EU states. In the UK, for instance, I suspect there is a group of up to 5% of the population who fully support the Brixton nail-bomber.

Sociologists usually refuse to investigate this group, on the principle "let sleeping dogs lie". But there is historical evidence for a hidden, violent and hate-driven minority with the majority population - for instance lynchings in the USA and pogroms in Russia. In wartime conditions 'opportunist pogroms' by civilians, against ethnic or religious minorities, are common. In the end this 'populist force' is terminated by state force - the use of troops against lynch mobs, for instance. Then the events are swept under the carpet.

Fortuyn's party, which was primarily a list of candidates under his name, draws support from both of these groups. Fortuyn 'gave voice' to the racist block, the expression 'gave voice' is used constantly about him. The party itself is run by disaffected businessmen, the backbone of populist movements. (One of them runs hotsexteens.com, incidentally). Their demands are not particularly unusual - lower taxes, more efficiency - but that is not what Fortuyn was about. The voters saw Fortuyn as the man who would stop immigration, and that was indeed what he promised. Including closing the border, and not letting anyone across without an iris scan.

It is important to note, that the political establishment in the Netherlands had an ambiguous attitude to Fortuyn. Many in the large parties saw him as a useful stick, to beat the 'politically correct' left. When he was shot, however, a collective panic seized the elite. Leading politicians hid in their houses, with police guards outside, and gave no interviews. After a day or two they collectively gave in, to the Diana-style hysteria of the racist block. The comparison with France says a lot: although Fortuyn has no more support than Le Pen, the French political elite was openly united against Le Pen. In contrast, Wim Kok organised a 'state funeral' for Fortuyn: he was laid in state in Rotterdam cathedral (he was a parishioner there). The whole cabinet and the leaders of all the political parties attended the funeral mass. (Only the royal family was conspicuously absent). The elite made absurd concessions to the racists: Mayor Cohen of Amsterdam went on a silent march together with a group of neo-nazi skinheads, to honour the memory of Fortuyn.

Which way will it go from here? Elections tomorrow, 15 May, will show.

The rest of this message, below the line, consists of forum quotes. They are emphatically not *my* views.

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"Apply the law of Moses to Volkert, stone him publicly"

"I lived in Harderwijk for years, I had the chance to run Volkert down, I missed my chance"

"protection he has no right give him to the people we can beat him slow torture that is the best method filthy murderer"

"eat all the animals, don't separate your waste, dump you batteries at the office of Green-Left. Out with the left terrorists, die you all"

"I hope you get the same as Pim. That seems likely, because there are a lot of people who want to do it. I hope your son did not inherit your defective genes. One madman is enough!! Imagine having him for a father. I just saw an e-mail with Pim's little dog. He's lost his owner, and we've lost our hero"

"put this man on the electric chair!!!"

"the best way to take revenge on volkert and the other left murderers is to ruin the environment for ever. This country is ruined anyway without Pim"

"he is an unbelievable bastard kill and above all slow and painfully"

"Hang him on the Euromast and let him rot!!"

"kill this animal, then those whores the biotic bakers, then the environmentalists, and then the rest"

"Volkert is evil en he must be tortured!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"you must hang that volkert up and cut off his nose piece by piece and his ears his fingers let him feel it, he must must feel what he did. I love Pim forever.

"Stop animal testing! Use Volkert"

"Volkert dirty bastard coward torture is good for you or gas chamber murderer"

"I call on everyone to eat a nice piece of meat tomorrow for Volkert. I know you will hurt him that way."

"First your leg off and then burn it, yeh we don't want you to bleed to death. Then an arm off and then burn it too...lovely and then 1000000000 bullets for you, nice eh"