Two former CDA members Nicolien van Vroonhoven and Hein Pieper

Frans Timmermans has been officially nominated as party leader of GroenLinks-PvdA. This was announced by the party councils of the two parties on Friday. The Committee of Party Leaders considers the European Commissioner to be “the ideal candidate to convincingly disseminate the joint green and social ideas of GroenLinks-PvdA.”

Timmermans calls the nomination “a great privilege.” As the leader of the party, he wants to restore confidence. “In each other and in government.” He cites the climate crisis, growing inequality, failing government and international security as the biggest challenges the new movement will face under his leadership. They call for a decisive approach that can count on broad support among the population. And that starts with confidence.

In recent weeks, the Tractors Standing Committee, consisting of Paul Dibla (PvdA), Andre van Ess (GroenLinks), Bram van Oijk (GroenLinks) and Nelleke Vedelaar (PvdA), has interviewed various candidates to lead the red-green group. Only the Timmermans survived the selection procedure. There are no competing candidates.

In the end, the committee came to a unanimous decision to nominate Timmermans. The committee sees him as a leader who can transcend the sharp differences that characterize our current society. He brings a wealth of experience and has gained his spurs in both domestic and foreign policy. The committee sees Timmermans as a figurehead for the Left Cooperation and believes it has a credible candidate for prime minister, with the current European Commissioner as party leader.

Although there are no other opposition candidates, members must still vote on the nomination. Both PvdA and GroenLinks members can vote for the Timmermans or the “None of the Candidates” option. The results will be announced on Tuesday 22 August. This will also become apparent how big the support is for the Labor Party under GreenLefters.

Normally, the nomination would have to be endorsed at a convention, but moving the vote forward will allow the campaign team to focus fully on campaigning in the coming weeks through November 22.

Avinash Bhikhi