It was the look on Donald Tusk’s face that told Theresa May she was in trouble. When the president of the European Council — the shop steward for the other 27 EU member states — greeted the prime minister shortly after lunch on Thursday “he looked ashen-faced”. Tusk had just sat through a leaders’ lunch at which the French president Emmanuel Macron had torn up Tusk’s plans for a special summit in mid-November to thrash out a final Brexit deal. Tusk ushered May onto a balcony for a private chat to break the news.
Tusk’s message sabotaged what May’s aides had believed was a carefully choreographed diplomatic dance that would see EU leaders welcoming her Chequers proposal as having advanced discussions — while not backing
