EU climate chief Frans Timmermans says he wants to lead combined center-left bloc in Dutch elections

By MIKE CORDER
Associated Press

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — European Union climate chief Frans Timmermans says he wants to lead a combined campaign by two left-leaning parties that are joining forces ahead of Dutch parliamentary elections in late November. Timmermans is a vice president of the EU’s executive commission in charge of climate policy. He told Dutch broadcaster NOS on Thursday that he has put himself forward as a candidate to lead the Labor Party and Green Left into the elections. The parties agreed Monday to join forces to form a united front on the left of the splintered Dutch political landscape. Timmermans is a member of the Labor Party and a former foreign minister. He says he wants to be the next Dutch prime minister and aims to unite the increasingly polarized nation.