Good choice.
Posted on 11/16/2004 11:30:30 AM PST by knighthawk
Television viewers in the Netherlands have voted the right-wing politician Pim Fortuyn, killed in 2002, the greatest Dutchman of all time.
Mr Fortuyn, who inflamed Dutch society with fierce anti-immigration rhetoric, was shot by an animal rights activist.
He beat the first William of Orange - the 17th-Century founder of the modern Dutch state - into second place.
The vote came amid racial and religious tension after film-maker Theo van Gogh was shot dead by a Muslim extremist.
Before his murder, Pim Fortuyn's right-wing List party was poised to make large gains in the general election of 2002, campaigning on an anti-immigration ticket.
The flamboyant and openly gay Mr Fortuyn also criticised Muslim attitudes to women and homosexuals.
He was shot dead in May 2002 five days before the election. In the wake of the murder, his party soared to second place, but has since split apart.
But many of Pim Fortuyn's policies have been absorbed by mainstream Dutch political parties.
Changing society
Mr Fortuyn's champion in the poll, journalist Yoeri Albrecht, suggested the result reflected current realities in the Netherlands.
"The question is what meaning 'the greatest Dutchman' has for society at this moment," Mr Albrecht said.
"Just look at what has happened in the last 14 days."
Opinion polls after Theo van Gogh's killing suggest that a majority of Dutch people feel threatened by the prospect of high immigration and the further integration of ethnic minorities into society.
Sectarian attacks on mosques, churches and schools have increased in the wake of the killing, further undermining traditional Dutch principles of tolerance.
In the final vote, the decolonising post-war Prime Minister William Drees came third, while Anne Frank, footballer Johann Cruyff and artists Vincent van Gogh and Rembrandt were all in the top ten.
In Britain and Germany, similar polls saw Winston Churchill and post-war Chancellor Konrad Adenauer take the titles.
1 - Pim Fortuyn - politician 2 - William of Orange - royalty 3 - William Drees - politician 4 - Antony van Leeuwenhoek - scientist 5 - Erasmus - humanist 6 - Johan Cruyff - footballer 7 - Michael de Ruyter - admiral 8 - Anne Frank - diarist 9 - Rembrandt van Rijn - artist 10 - Vincent van Gogh - artist
Ping
So will there be a headline asking how so many Dutch can be so stupid?
This proves that they are *very* mad over there, I think.
We just had Dutch visitors who were touring America for four weeks return home to Venlo just two days ago. They were riveted to the news about the murder and burnings of mosques, and were wondering what they were going home to.
---as bad as those who rank Kennedy as a "great" president---
Kammerlingh Onnes
Spinoza
Adrian Willaert
Christiaan Huygens
No votes for Corrie Ten Boom?!? Sad.
What was their opinion as to what they were seeing on tv?
I'm glad to hear it.
Bump!
Also,are ties between animal rights groups and Islamists noticeable in your Country?
Good choice.
The Dutch are almost as bad at their own history as we are at ours! Pim Fortuyn shouldn't even make the top 50! And Johan Cruyff?
Where is William the Silent and his son, Maurice of Nassau? Where is Martin Tromp?
At least they remembered de Ruyter and William of Orange!
If Fortuyn was the best they have to offer, it's understandable.
What about Dutch Reagan?
No, but his anti-islamic views were regarded as racist by the left. They linked him to Hitler, Mussolini and so on and that of course made it easier to pull the trigger for his killer.
On the 2nd question I cannot really give ans answer because both groups operate mainly on theirselves.
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