ABSTRACT
At the end of the 1990's, Lijst Pim Fortuyn (LPF) felt that he had completed his ideological construction work and was ready to implement his ideas in practical politics. Because of his disillusionment with the established parties and his rather controversial political ideas and personal lifestyle, the mainstream parties were less of an option for Fortuyn to get involved into politics. The party Leefbaar Nederland, established by Jan Nagel in 1999, provided a window of opportunity. However, already in 1993, Nagel and his associate established a local party named Leefbaar Hilversum, which became successful in the 1998 local elections. This chapter discusses who voted for the LPF and for what reasons on the occasion of the 2002 elections and explores the data from the Dutch Parliamentary Election Studies (DPES) from 2002 and 2003. It focuses on how the LPF performed in electoral terms over time and origins and ideology of the LPF.
