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Camino Mortera-Martinez, an analyst at the Centre for European Reform, told the BBC "it's now clear the Greens will have a very important role in policymaking" - partly because liberal and socialist parties know they lost voters to the Greens."It's an easy policy area to make political gains, as it's a popular issue," she said.

Mr Watson pointed out that Shakespeare had based many of his plays on the continent. 'Being European was central to his sense of who he was,' he added. In a keynote speech at the Centre for European Reform, Mr Watson complained that the EU was wrongly being portrayed as a 'threat to our way of life'.

Mr Watson told an audience at the Centre for European Reform that "our hearts are Remain" and that another referendum is the only way to "break the political deadlock" at Westminster.

In his speech at the Centre for European Reform, Watson also took a veiled swipe at some Labour MPs and union officials, including Unite’s general secretary, Len McCluskey, who have cautioned against a referendum, suggesting they had not made the case for how the EU had helped their towns and workers. “For those on the left to fail to acknowledge that is to rewrite history,” he said.“It is no ‘boss’s club’, it is both an engine of progress and a backstop against regressive and repressive governments.”

Speaking to the Centre for European Reform think-tank, Mr Watson will say: “Pro-European is who we are and who we have always been.
 “Our members are Remain, our values are Remain, our hearts are Remain.
“The only way to break the political deadlock is to bring the public back into this decision - and we must argue strongly to Remain.
“Our future doesn’t need to be Brexit - we can change our future.
“We can put Britain back at the heart of Europe again, we can be proud of leading the fight for a fairer and stronger future, together.

Any further extension of the deadline also requires the unanimous approval of EU governments. Charles Grant of the Centre for European Reform, a think-tank, believes they may agree, but adds that some exasperated leaders just want Brexit out of the way, deal or no deal.

Mr Weidmann is the most contentious candidate. His vocal opposition to ECB asset-purchase programmes was reportedly derided by Mr Draghi as “Nein zu allem”(“No to everything”). Appointing him would be a mistake, says Christian Odendahl of the Centre for European Reform, a think-tank: the bank would be less activist in downturns and less supportive of fiscal easing.

Se convertirán España y el resto de países del sur en las principales víctimas colaterales de una presidencia de Weidmann? "Planteemos la cuestión al revés. Alemania podría vivir con una presidencia de Weidmann. Los países más fuertes no necesitan apoyo. En la próxima crisis, Alemania no se enfrenta a ninguna restricción en materia de política fiscal y lo tendrá relativamente fácil para estimular su economía", responde a EL ESPAÑOL el economista alemán Christian Odendahl, del Centre for European Reform.