Fortuyn's party wins share in government

Assassinated maverick Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn's party is expected to form part of the country's new Right-wing coalition government after voters swept the ruling Labor Party from power.

The populist Pim Fortuyn List won 26 seats in the 150-member Parliament, while the Right-wing Christian Democrat Alliance took 43, meaning they are likely to start coalition talks today and join with the Liberals to form the new three-party government.

The move means the Netherlands' new prime minister is expected to be Jan Peter Balkenende, a 46-year-old professor of Christian philosophy who has pledged to begin moves to end the country's tolerance of soft drugs.

The ruling centre-left coalition, headed by prime minister Wim Kok's Labor Party, was handed a stinging defeat in a landslide for the Right, losing 43 of its 97 seats and any chance of staying in power. It had been in government since 1994 after the CDA came together with the free-market VVD party and the liberal D66 party.

Mr Kok, a key ally of Tony Blair, said the result was a severe blow for European social democrats.

"These are difficult times for social democracy, not just in the Netherlands, but also elsewhere in Europe," he said, announcing that he was quitting politics.

"The voters gave us a huge thrashing. The people of the Netherlands have made a different choice."

Mr Kok had faced severe criticism after an independent report said Dutch peacekeepers during the war in Bosnia had failed to prevent the massacre of 7,500 Muslim men and boys in the town of Srebrenica by Serb forces.

But it was Mr Fortuyn's gunning down outside a radio studio on 6 May which shocked the Dutch and prompted an outburst of public mourning which continued as they went to the polls.

Mr Fortuyn, an openly gay former Marxist professor known for his flamboyant personal style and immaculate dress sense, had called for an end to immigration and policies to force Muslim immigrants to integrate into Dutch society and tapped into mounting fear of crime.

Mr Kok had urged voters not to turn the ballot box into a book of condolence, but Mr Fortuyn's LPF party, despite being left leaderless by the killing, took 17.1 per cent of the votes, making it the second force in the Dutch parliament.

Mat Herben, party spokesman and the man likely to lead its MPs, said: "This is fantastic. I hope we will be able to reach a government agreement."

Mr Balkenende, who is likely to be named prime minister designate today, said the result showed the centre-left had been rejected by the Dutch. "Citizens want a different kind of politics," he told cheering supporters as the first results came through.

Plain-spoken Mr Balkenende has pledged to tighten immigration policies and promote the integration of new arrivals.

His Christian Democrat manifesto said all immigrants should know the national anthem and refugees should pay a large deposit to bring a spouse to the Netherlands, refundable once they studied Dutch language and culture.

The Christian Democrat Alliance was euphoric. CDA official Maria van der Hoeven said: "It's fantastic. We hadn't even dared to dream of this outcome."

A lynchpin in 20th-century Dutch governments until 1994, the CDA boasts that it was in power longer than the Soviet Communist Party.

Mr Balkenende has been called "dull but 200 per cent reliable". Asked if he would team up with Mr Fortuyn's party, Mr Balkenende said: "Looking at the results, the voters have given a clear signal. But we'll have to discuss proposals and stability, especially with LPF."

The VVD's parliamentary party leader, Hans Dijkstal, indicated that he, like Mr Kok. would step down. The VVD has been tipped as a third potential coalition member. A combination of CDA, VVD and LPF would have a comfortable parliamentary majority with 92 seats.

The small Socialist Party was also a winner, almost doubling its seats to nine - another blow for the main political groupings.

Election pundits had predicted that Mr Fortuyn's murder would prompt a big voter showing. Turnout was estimated at around 80per cent, significantly higher than four years ago.

The high vote for Mr Fortuyn's party came after far-Right Jean-Marie Le Pen shocked Europe by forcing a run-off with Gaullist Jacques Chirac vote in the French presidential elections. In the final vote, M Chirac secured a landslide victory.