Frans Timmermans hopes to be Netherlands' next Prime Minister
Frans Timmermans wants to be the Netherlands' next Prime Minister, the prominent PvdA European Commissioner told NOS, confirming his candidacy to lead the PvdA-GroenLinks combination in the upcoming parliamentary election. His main goal is to bring the Netherlands residents back together instead of them growing further and further apart, he said.
“We have to ensure that the Netherlands regains confidence in itself,” Timmermans said. Because there are “gigantic challenges” to face - the climate crisis, the deteriorating state of nature, war on Europe’s borders, and ever-increasing inequality. “We can only solve that if we work shoulder to shoulder.” If he has his way, this will happen with him as Prime Minister, Timmermans said. If not, he’ll be a parliamentarian.
When asked about the theme that collapsed the Rutte IV Cabinet - asylum seekers and family reunification in particular - Timmermans told NOS that he supports a “strict but fair” asylum policy. “But don’t talk to me about tearing families apart. That will never happen under my authority.” The Rutte IV Cabinet collapsed over a plan to limit family reunification for war refugees to no more than 200 per year, possibly with a waiting period of two years.
Timmermans is currently the only candidate for PvdA-GroenLinks leader. PvdA leader Attje Kuiken said she informed TImmermans that she wasn’t in the running. She called his candidacy “great news” on Twitter. “I am thrilled with it. My great support for his candidacy.”
GroenLinks leader Jesse Klaver already said he wouldn’t run for leader. He’s thrown his support behind Timmermans, he said on Thursday, calling him the perfect Prime Minister “to change the course of the Netherlands and usher in a new era.”
GroenLinks parliamentarian Corinne Ellemeet is also happy with Timmermans’ candidacy. “Green and social leadership. Really needed in these times,” she tweeted.
Laura Bonnet (GroenLinks) described him as a “green PvdA member” on Twitter. “Exciting times, she said.”
European Parliamentarian Agnes Jongerius (PvdA) believes Timmermans is “the right person to head the Dutch socialists/green coalition. The Netherlands is waiting for a leader with vision.”
Rotterdam mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb (PvdA), long considered a good contender to lead the two parties, has also thrown his support behind Timmermans and won’t run, his spokesperson told ANP.
Before Timmermans announced his candidacy, voters in the Netherlands were divided between the left-wing bloc, the farmers’ movement BBB, and departing Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s VVD. The latest poll by Maurice de Hond projected that the three parties would each get 25 seats in parliament, making them the largest by far.
De Hond stressed that there were still many uncertainties in the data, seeing as the election campaigns haven’t even started yet. De Hond expects the campaign to have an even bigger influence than in previous elections due to the many new party leaders and candidates to be Prime Minister.
