Bug#368737: vim cannot show syntax highlighting

[Robert Goliasz]

Remove any lines like "set runtimepath" from your ~/.vimrc.

If that doesn't help, move your ~/.vimrc out of the way and check if vim will
show syntax highlighting after you type :syn on. If it does, it means there is
a problem with your .vimrc file.

I've had exactly the same problem and removing "set runtimepath" command from
.vimrc helped.
-- 
Robert Goliasz
Claranet Ltd.