EU climate chief Frans Timmermans is set to lead the center-left bloc into Dutch general elections

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans is the only candidate to lead a merged campaign between two center-left parties in the Dutch general election in November. Timmermans, a former Dutch foreign minister who is now the European Union’s climate chief, is set to be confirmed as leader of the Labour Party and Green Left campaign Aug. 22 after a vote by members. In a message Friday on X, formerly known as Twitter, the parties lauded Timmermans as a leader “who gives direction to a green and social course” for the Netherlands. The parties decided last month to go into the Nov. 22 election with a shared manifesto and one list of candidates to unite the center-left vote in the splintered Dutch political landscape.