Thousands in Netherlands Mourn Slain Maverick Politician

Thousands of Dutch citizens, many in tears, filed past the open coffin of slain anti-immigrant politician Pim Fortuyn on Thursday in a display of raw emotion rarely seen in this usually restrained country.

The ceremony in a Rotterdam cathedral, requested by Fortuyn’s family, was atypical. The last time a body lay in state was in 1962, when Queen Beatrix’s grandmother, Queen Wilhelmina, died.

The 54-year-old maverick, whose party had been expected to win about 17% in Dutch elections next week, was shot outside a radio station near Amsterdam on Monday. Animal rights campaigner Volkert van der Graaf, 32, has been charged with his murder.

Fortuyn’s body was displayed in an open white coffin, dressed in a dark suit, yellow tie and white shirt. The gunshot wounds to his head, neck and back were not visible.

“Pim, we’re proud of you,” read a card from Fortuyn’s family, atop a wreath of red roses near the coffin.

Mourners carrying banners and huge photos of Fortuyn piled floral tributes in the cathedral. Some crossed themselves as they approached the body in a silent stream.

Many women and a few men left the cathedral sobbing.

“I am crying because of the injustice to Pim Fortuyn and his ideals that have been so distorted by the media and politicians,” said Angelika Lopez, 50, a receptionist.

“I am sure he did not die in vain,” she said. “Something has to change, otherwise the far right will step in and this whole country will go down the drain.”

People from all walks of life stood in line from the early hours, waiting for the cathedral to open. Most were white, but some were from the Netherlands’ large immigrant population, many of whom hail from former Dutch colonies.

By early evening, police estimated that about 20,000 people were waiting to view the body. The cathedral was to close overnight before Fortuyn’s funeral is held there today.

Openly gay, Fortuyn appealed to many Dutch voters with his plain speaking and criticism of the complacency of a cozy ruling elite, but he upset the left and many immigrants with demands to close the country’s borders and by calling Islam “backward.”

That did not stop 31-year-old Fauwsja, a Dutch Muslim from Rotterdam, from wanting to pay her respects.

“It is really very sad what happened,” she said as she waited outside the cathedral.

“Even though we are Muslims, we agreed with some of the ideas he stood for.”