Right-wing Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn, whose anti-immigration party stunned the public with its strong showing in local elections last March, was shot six times and killed Monday as he left a radio interview. Dutch television said the 54-year-old politician was shot in the head, neck and chest. The attack came nine days before national elections, and opinion polls had predicted Fortuyn would lead one of the largest parties in parliament. [...] The radio reporter who interviewed Fortuyn said police with dogs chased and captured a man with a gun. Other witnesses said the gunman was chased by at least four people after the shooting. Police had no immediate comment.

I wouldn't have thought such a thing would happen in the Netherlands. On the other hand, given that it did happen, I'm not at all surprised that it happened to him.

I wonder what the person who killed him intended to happen with this. Unless it was done by a far-rightist that felt he was betraying the cause somehow, I suspect that the results won't be as intended. Fortuyn's party is likely to pick up even more, as people who might have sympathized with him but didn't intend to vote will now want to make a statement. People who were on the fence about who to vote for might also want to make that statement. And since it's a parliamentary system, in some ways, it doesn't actually matter who is the head of the party. There will be a far-rightist in the party to take over for Fortuyn.

I understand he didn't have a party as such. My prediction is for a further-right further demagogue (a la La Pen and Haider) to emerge from this mess. The issue that made him famous (unemployable young men from unassimilating immigrant groups turning to gang violence) isn't going away.