Manfred Weber, leader of the European People's Party (EPP), distanced himself from Silvio Berlusconi after Berlusconi made statements against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

However, the centre-right Forza Italia party defended Berlusconi and even questioned Weber's leadership. Berlusconi's attack caused turmoil in the EU centre-right family, prompting Weber to officially distance himself from Berlusconi and cancel an EPP gathering in Naples in June.

Weber clarified that the issue was personal to Berlusconi and not the party, and that he would continue to cooperate with the Italian government on EU issues. But Antonio Tajani, the national coordinator of Forza Italia, defended Berlusconi and criticized Weber's decision to postpone the Naples meeting.

Tajani stressed that Forza Italia and Berlusconi have always voted like the EPP on Ukraine. Group leaders of Forza Italia in the House and Senate also criticized Weber's attempts to intervene in the internal life of their party, calling it unacceptable. Before the Italian elections, Weber supported a coalition government between Brothers of Italy, Forza Italia, and Lega. He also attempted to bring Brothers of Italy closer to collaboration with the EPP, but faced opposition within the centre-right family. Photo by paz.ca, Wikimedia commons.