The European Commission might see its Vice President Frans Timmermans make a transfer move in the near future. According to insiders, he is said to be contemplating a push to become Prime Minister in his home country, the Netherlands.
While the final debate on the proposed nature restoration law is raging in the European Parliament, Timmermans, its main promotor, may be preparing his next career move.
Rumours about Timmermans returning to the Netherlands’ political battle front have been circulating for months but, after this week’s decision by current Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte to exit politics, such talk is growing louder.
According to Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, Timmermans’ team is indicating he is unsure. His close family reportedly opposes any such move “out of fear of potential threats and the hardened political climate”.
Timmermans has never been shy about publicising his vision of how the Netherlands should be run.
His Socialist party is in an alliance with the Greens. Both parties are polling well ahead of the national elections in the autumn.
The politician has developed what many see as a statesman-like image through his work at the EC, meeting numerous heads of state on the international stage.
Opinion polls indicate that almost one-third of Dutch voters find Timmermans an acceptable figure for Prime Minister, making him one of the more prominent names should he decide to stand.
Now that the nature restoration law is heading toward the final vote, most of the heavy lifting in the current European Union constellation seems to be over.
Regardless of its future, as Timmermans was the leading advocate for the law, he has gained much admiration among those on the ‘green’ side of the political aisle. To many, that makes him an ideal candidate for political leadership on the Left in a fractured Dutch political landscape.
His current term as EC Vice President ends next summer, and Timmermans would not be the first Commissioner to put himself up for transfer; in mid-May, European Commissioner Mariya Gabriel stepped down after being picked by the leader of her party to become Bulgaria’s next Prime Minister.
If Timmermans does follow her lead, he would face a delicate political balancing act at home, observers say, given the highly controversial Dutch nitrogen law. The elections come amid political upheaval.
