He’s a farmer’s son: Now he wants to be Europe’s farming commissioner.

Christophe Hansen of Luxembourg was an early front-runner for the job thanks to the backing of his center-right European People’s Party, which campaigned as a champion of farmers in the European election.

Well-known and liked as a former European lawmaker specializing in trade issues, the 42-year-old Hansen will need all of his people skills to realize European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s promise of a “vision” for the future of EU agriculture within 100 days of taking office.

The farm lobby has already turned against the results of the strategic dialogue that sought to lay the ground for the policy overhaul. The food industry gripes that the policy agenda is all “farm” and no “fork” — after Hansen buried the idea of a sustainable food systems law. And nongovernmental organizations are complaining that the Green Deal gains of the last term are being thrown away.

We’ll be bringing you all the live action from 6:30 p.m. CET on Nov. 4. 

Background reading: 

— How the hearings work 

— Who’s most likely to get the chop 

P.S. If you want to follow more of the action from the hearings, our reporters will be bringing you blow-by-blow updates from all 26 commissioner interviews here.