Pim Fortuyn: Death Of A Populist

Part of the Series: Political Assassination Series

Pim Fortuyn was a political outsider and reformist poised to be the next Prime Minister of Holland when on May 6, 2002 he was gunned down in the street after leaving a live radio interview. Only three months earlier this wealthy businessman was considered an outsider, but he had soared in the polls and was now tipped to be the next Prime Minister of Holland. The country, in a state of shock, elects Fortuyn's party in the election with around one-third of votes. Today there is still unease that the killing may not simply have been the act of a lone gunman, but that he had responded to the climate of hate whipped up by the political establishment who were reluctant to give up their long-held grip on power. What was the real attitude of the Establishment and of the Media in Pim Fortuyn's meteoric ascension?