Rome, June 21 (AFP/APP): Italy’s Five Star Movement, the biggest party in Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s government, on Tuesday looked on course to split over long-running tensions exacerbated by attitudes to the Ukraine war.
Dozens of lawmakers have signed up to form a new group led by Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio due to launch in 2023, media reports said.
Di Maio has backed Draghi’s policy of supporting Kyiv and sending weapons to Ukraine.
The former Five Star leader and deputy prime minister has clashed for months with the head of the party, former premier Giuseppe Conte.
Conte argues that Italy’s efforts should instead focus on a diplomatic solution.
Tensions peaked at the weekend after Di Maio called for an end to party criticism over Draghi’s approach to the Ukraine crisis — notably the sending of weapons to Kyiv.
“I am accused by the leaders of my political force of being Atlanticist and pro-European,” Di Maio wrote in a statement.
“Let me say that, as foreign minister, in the face of this terrible war I proudly claim to be strongly Atlanticist and pro-European.”
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