To be more concrete with respect to the issue I am trying to understand, the LA Times ran an article yesterday on the new Muslim mayor of Rotterdam. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-rotterdam-mayor4-2009oct04,0,4284179,full.story. The article included the following paragraphs:
--------------------------------------------------------- "In 2002, Pim Fortuyn, a populist and openly gay politician who slammed Islam as a "backward" religion, was fatally shot by a white assassin claiming to act in support of the Muslim community. .... As mayor, Aboutaleb must gingerly maneuver a cultural war pitting those who believe Dutch liberal, secular society to be under threat from a growing religious minority against others who say that Muslims and other immigrants have been unfairly scapegoated. Right-wing politicians demanded that Aboutaleb demonstrate his loyalty by giving up his Moroccan passport (he holds dual nationality). Geert Wilders, the country's most inflammatory public figure, declared that Aboutaleb's appointment was "as ridiculous as appointing a Dutchman as mayor of Mecca." ..... "After every election, you are the one that stays. . . . So people start trusting you as the consistent part of the city government," said Marco Pastors, head of Livable Rotterdam, the right-wing party of Fortuyn. "People look up to you, and when you are looked up to, you have powers." ...... Pastors, the head of Livable Rotterdam, was a member of the conclave of city leaders who nominated Aboutaleb for mayor, and he took some heat within his party for acceding to the choice. ------------------------------------------------------- Let's take the article on its face. The party of Fortuyn, who is identifeid as gay , is representative of the "liberal, secular society" concerned about a growing religious minority, but is also identifed as a supporter of the choice of the muslim Aboutaleb for mayor. So, what exactly makes "Livable Rotterdam" a "right-wing" party? What are the ideological components of Livable Rotterdan that make it right wing as opposed to left-wing? It apparently is a member of the "liberal, secular" right-wing. I am laughing as I type this. Apparently, left-right labels have no connection with secular/religious, sexual liberation/traditional values, attitudes toward social democracy, etc. Instead, it all comes down to openess to unrestricted muslim immigration. I cannot make this stuff up. David Shemano _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
