He will return to Rome after the leaders' dinner on Wednesday evening to prepare for a scheduled cabinet meeting on Thursday that is expected to see fresh measures to address the soaring costs of household energy bills.

A government source told AFP the decision had been taken early Wednesday to allow time for Draghi to prepare for what would be an important cabinet meeting.

Italy's premier took part in the main discussions of the Madrid summit, notably Ukraine and the enlargement of NATO to Finland and Sweden -- and will be replaced in Thursday morning's session by Defence Minister Lorenzo Guerini.

His change of plan came after a row broke out following claims that Draghi had asked to have the leader of the Five Star Movement, a key member of his coalition, removed.

He allegedly asked Five Star founder Beppe Grillo to remove former premier and party head Giuseppe Conte -- a claim that Draghi's aides strongly denied.

Asked about the incident Wednesday, Draghi told reporters in Madrid that he had spoken to Conte earlier in the day and would speak to him again on Thursday, adding: "The government is not at risk."

Conte is on the back foot after former Five Star leader Luigi Di Maio, Italy's foreign minister, quit the party last week and formed a breakaway movement.

Both men had long been at odds over the direction of the party, a once anti-establishment force that took office after 2018 elections but is now suffering from divisions, defections and falling public support.

Both Conte and Di Maio had last week promised to support Draghi going forward. But Conte said on Wednesday -- following the allegations of Draghi's interference -- that it would be a serious matter for a "technical prime minister" to have intervened in internal party politics.

Draghi, a former European Central Bank chief, has never been elected to political office but was brought in by President Sergio Mattarella in early 2021 after Conte's coalition collapsed.

Almost all the main political parties, except the far-right Brothers of Italy, joined Draghi's government as it battled the crisis brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

But as elections loom next year, tensions among coalition partners have increased.