Far right gets immigration post in new Dutch cabinet

The party of the murdered right-winger Pim Fortuyn is to take charge of immigration in the Dutch government after clinching four cabinet seats.

In a decision likely to outrage liberals, Fortuyn's successors will be responsible for asylum as the embryonic coalition toughens its immigration policy. After weeks of horse-trading, Christian Democrat leader Jan Peter Balkenende looks set to become Prime Minister with his party filling six of the 14 cabinet seats.

Lijst Fortuyn (LPF), founded by the maverick politician, was given responsibility for immigration only two months after its shock success in an election which saw voters ditch Prime Minister Wim Kok's centre-left government. Conservatives (CDA), liberals (VVD) and Fortuyn's five-month-old party agreed the division of posts for the centre-right government yesterday.

The CDA will take charge of justice and foreign affairs, while the free-market VVD, with four cabinet posts, secured the finance ministry.

Mr Fortuyn, a gay shaven-headed, former sociology lecturer, stirred controversy by saying the Netherlands was full, and for calling Islam backward. His populist party had to drop its call for no immigration after opposition from its coalition partners.

Last night his successor, Mat Herben said: "This whole (immigration) process will now be our responsibility. That's what Pim Fortuyn always wanted." Mr Fortuyn was gunned down outside a radio station days before the May election. An animal-rights activist has been charged with his murder. His death shocked Europe at a time when it appeared threatened by the resurgent far-right, including the National Front in France led by Jean-Marie Le Pen.

Even his own party was stunned by its unexpected success in the election, in which it stormed into second place behind the Christian Demo-crats in a country noted for its liberal attitudes. The CDA won 40 seats in the 150-seat parliament, and the LPF 26.

Immigration has been a key topic in recent elections across Europe with far-right parties also making gains in Belgium and Denmark, which like the Netherlands had a reputation as one of the continent's most liberal havens.

The coalition plans to penalise immigrants who fail to pass Dutch language and citizenship classes and place restrictions on newcomers bring- ing relatives from abroad.

The new government also plans to clamp down on businesses employing illegal immigrants. The Netherlands has one of the lowest unemployment rates in Europe at around two per cent, with acute labour shortages in education, health care and retail.

Around 10 per cent of the population of 16 million are non-Western immigrants with an estimated 46,000 to 110,000 illegal immigrants.

Fortuyn's party will also run economics, health and sport.