A 'Dutch Trudeau' elected to lead left-wing alliance after Frans Timmermans resigns following election failure
Jesse Klaver. Photo credit: ANP / ddp USA / Profimedia
The Dutch left-wing alliance between the Greens and the Labor Party on Monday chose the young Jesse Klaver, a follower of social media, as its new leader, following the resignation of Frans Timmermans, former vice-president of the European Commission, after the disappointing results of the parliamentary elections, reports AFP.
Klaver's first task will likely be to begin coalition negotiations with centrist Rob Jetten, the winner of the election, who is seeking a broad coalition that includes both left and right.
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“Jesse is one of the driving forces behind our left-wing cooperation and we are grateful that he will now take on the responsibility of leading the parliamentary group,” the left-wing alliance said on the X social network, according to Agerpres.
Leader of the Greens since 2015, Jesse Klaver, 39, has been a prominent figure in Dutch politics for years, despite his young age.
With his brunette locks, he is often compared to former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, but cites John F. Kennedy as his biggest inspiration.
He even drinks his coffee from a mug inscribed with a quote from the US president: “One person can make a difference, and everyone should try.”
By a coincidence, even his full name, “Jesse Feras Klaver,” recalls JFK's initials.
He is the only child of an absent Moroccan father and a Dutch-Indonesian mother.
Klaver has been described as “anti-Wilders”, a reference to Geert Wilders, the far-right, anti-Islam and anti-immigration leader.
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The youngest party leader the Netherlands has ever had, Klaver was raised mainly by his grandparents in social housing in a suburb of Roosendaal (southern).
Contrary to what “some politicians would have you believe, the Netherlands is a country of immigration,” Klaver told AFP in a 2017 interview.
“I am a product of this immigration,” he added.
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Frans Timmermans, 64, resigned on Wednesday after his left-wing group suffered a disappointing electoral defeat, winning 20 seats in Parliament compared to 25 in the previous election.
“It's normal for me to step back and hand over the leadership of our movement to the next generation,” he said.
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