Timmermans is considered the preferred candidate of the Social Democratic Party and the Green Party Groenlinks.
(Photo: AP)
Amsterdam EU Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans wants to stand as the top candidate for the new red-green alliance in his native Netherlands in the early parliamentary elections in November. He announced this to the Dutch TV broadcaster NOS on Thursday. His social democratic party and the green party Groenlinks had decided just a few days ago to run for the first time in the parliamentary elections with a joint list.
Timmermans is the preferred candidate for both parties. A final decision on the joint top candidate should be made in August. Then Timmermans also wants to leave the EU Commission.
The social democrat was in Brussels for almost ten years and was responsible for the Green Deal, among other things. Timmermans, 62, was Dutch foreign minister before moving to Brussels in 2014.
The previous centre-right coalition in The Hague unexpectedly burst at the beginning of July because of the asylum policy. After that, the previous right-liberal head of government, Mark Rutte, also announced that he would no longer stand and would leave politics.