Farmer Franz is hard to decouple from his agenda

FARMER Franz, the man behind the revolutionary CAP reform proposals, is not to be underestimated.

The former director of a provincial Austrian farmers’ association, Franz Fischler now seems to like nothing better than an international political fight.

He has entered the fray time and time again, since he took charge of the purse strings of almost half of the EU’s 95 billion budget.