In an interview with Polish TV last night, Polish Prime Minister and European Council President-designate Donald Tusk claimed that German Chancellor Angela Merkel “had not been a great enthusiast” of his candidacy.

He also confirmed that he’d had “complicated” talks with Prime Minister David Cameron on how to prevent “the EU from falling apart”.

 Tusk declined to speculate about his successor as Polish Prime Minister – with Ewa Kopacz, the speaker of the Polish parliament, widely seen as the favourite for the job. Tusk also played down the prospect of early parliamentary elections, currently due next autumn.