“European elections have never been about Europe. They are national elections that happen to take place on the same day. Anyone pretending otherwise is self-deluded,” says Markus Ferber. “And I have absolutely no problem with this.”

Stuck on you: a sticker is pasted over a CDU poster of Angela Merkel that reads: ‘We have a strong voice in Europe’

This may sound surprising, coming from a man who has been a member of the European parliament for the past 15 years and tops his party’s European ticket at this year’s election, taking place on June 7.