Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced on Friday that he was in favor of the candidacy of his Foreign Minister, Wopke Hoekstra, to succeed European Commissioner for Climate Action, Frans Timmermans, the latter having left Brussels to become head from the list of social democrats and ecologists in the early legislative elections in November.
“I think we have a good candidate with (Wopke) Hoekstra,” said Mark Rutte, who has been in charge of day-to-day business since his coalition government resigned last July after arguments. insurmountable” around the migration policy of the Netherlands.
“What you need is someone with international experience who can negotiate and bring people together,” added Mark Rutte. At 47, the Christian Democrat Wopke Hoekstra has in his curriculum vitae a long political career in The Hague but also a series of quarrels with countries in southern Europe and France.
A meeting with Ursula von der Leyen scheduled for Tuesday
Minister of Finance and then Foreign Affairs in the third and fourth governments of right-liberal Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Wopke Hoekstra had become a key figure on the national and European political scene.
As Minister of Finance, he stood out for his criticisms deemed harsh and sometimes inappropriate around the financial management of the countries of southern Europe and for which he later claimed to have lacked “empathy”.
According to Dutch media, Wopke Hoekstra is expected to meet European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday and the European Parliament is also expected to speak.