Dutch left bloc nominates EU commissioner as prime minister candidate

EU Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans on Friday was nominated as the prime minister candidate of the Dutch center-left bloc for the election due in November.

"The party leaders committee considers Frans Timmermans to be the ideal candidate to convincingly propagate the joint green and social ideas of GroenLinks-PvdA," the party said in a statement.

Timmermans was seen as "a leader who can bridge the sharp differences that characterize our current society," due to his experience and his success in both domestic and foreign politics.

"That makes him eminently suitable as a figurehead of left-wing cooperation and credible as prime minister-designate," the Green Left party also said.

Timmermans announced his intention in July to lead the bipartisan center-left bloc in the Dutch general elections.

The Labor Party and the Green Left Party have declared their alliance for the elections.