Fortuyn party lies low

Pim Fortuyn's murder has touched many voters

By Laurence Peter BBC News Online in Rotterdam

With its leadership in disarray, the party of the murdered Dutch anti-immigration politician Pim Fortuyn kept a low profile on election day - despite expectations of a large sympathy vote that could propel it into second place and a possible role in government.

The LPF leadership is in crisis. They don't know anything about politics

Kees Lunshof, De Telegraaf

List Pim Fortuyn (LPF) is based in a nondescript grey building called Spaanse Kubus in the middle of an industrial estate far from the centre of Rotterdam.

A gatekeeper there said he was under strict instructions not to allow any journalists to speak to List Pim Fortuyn members.

A woman answering the phone on the LPF secretariat's number said simply that the party was not speaking to the media "because Pim Fortuyn was killed". Declining to give her name, she said the LPF would speak "tomorrow".

In contrast, a spokesman for the Labour Party (PvdA) said PvdA candidates were free to talk to the media on election day, although campaigning had stopped.

Political novices

The popularity of the LPF is tinged with uncertainty about what the party really stands for and who among its list of political novices could represent it in government.

"The LPF leadership is in crisis," commented Kees Lunshof, a political analyst for the daily De Telegraaf.

"They don't know anything about politics - and they have no one who could be in government," he said.

Fortuyn's murder totally changed the character of the election

Peter Langendam, who was appointed as LPF chairman on Saturday, has resigned.

He had accused the government of creating a climate in which Fortuyn's murder could take place, saying "the bullet came from the left, not the right". He later apologised for the remarks.

And the number two on the party's list, Joao Varela, a 27-year-old black immigrant from Cape Verde, said he would not run for the post of leader because of his youth.

Search for leaders

According to Mr Lunshof, the LPF might find people elsewhere to represent them in government.

The LPF reportedly approached several prominent businessmen before the election, including former Philips chairman Jan Timmer and the chairman of the board of ABN-Amro Bank, Rykman Groenink - but both refused to represent the LPF.

Dutch commentators believe the party will have to resolve its internal divisions soon, because it risks falling apart.

The LPF has put forward an eclectic mix of candidates, including businessmen, lawyers, a journalist, a cardiologist and an optometrist. There is even a former Miss Holland, Irena Pantelic.

A frontrunner for the LPF leadership is Winny de Jong, the head of a food industry association.

Despite the party's youth and inexperience, the ideas of the late Pim Fortuyn - including a call for immigration to stop - have been the big talking point of the election campaign.