Italian Premier Mario Draghi is skipping the last day of the NATO summit in Madrid amid simmering tensions in his coalition government.
Draghi's office said the premier will attend a Cabinet meeting in the Italian capital on Thursday. Measures to bring relief for high consumer energy bills and government spending top the Cabinet's agenda.
Draghi's abrupt departure came amid tension in his wide-ranging unity coalition, assembled during the Covid-19 pandemic.
His predecessor, populist 5-Star Movement leader Giuseppe Conte, has been seething over issues including Draghi's staunch support for more military aid for Ukraine.
The 5-Stars are themselves in turmoil after Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio broke with the Movement last week, forming his own pro-Draghi political group, with an eye to national elections next year.
Italian Defense Minister Lorenzo Guerini is standing in for Draghi in Madrid.
