In the next municipal elections in June, the center right dreams of a coup d'état in Florence, in what has always been a stronghold of the left. Several factors make the business possible. First of all, the coalition is united: Fratelli d'Italia, Forza Italia and Lega have clear ideas and a name in their pocket. Second: the candidate who should be announced in the coming weeks is a well-known name in the city and could also appeal to part of the opposing electorate. Third: if the vote were to extend to a second round, Matteo Renzi's Italia Viva – who was mayor of the city in 2009 – could decide to direct its votes towards the center-right. But who plans to present the government coalition in the municipal elections? The name that has been circulating in recent days, and it is not really a surprise, is that of the former director of the Uffizi Gallery, Eike Schmidt. The German, naturalized Italian, obtained citizenship last November and is linked to Italy both through his studies and for family reasons, having married the art historian Roberta Bartoli. Schmidt has the support of all local leaders of the Fi, FdI and Lega, and has the esteem of the national leader of the FdI organization Donzelli and the Minister of Culture Gennaro Sangiuliano, who appointed him – after 8 years at the Uffizi – for Museum and Royal Forest of Capodimonte.
If the center-right has clear ideas, the opponent already has to face many problems. The candidate chosen by the Democratic Party is the municipal councilor of the Social Assistance Sara Funaro, but it is not a name which brings together the entire camp opposed to the right. In controversy with the Democratic Party's decision not to call the primaries, Italia Viva will support the vice-president of the Tuscany Region Stefania Saccardi. For the same reason, among the challengers there is also the former democratic urban planner, Cecilia Del Re, founder of Democratic Florence, destined to transform into a civic list. For now, the M5s remains attentive and monitors the 11 Agosto association of Professor Tomaso Montanari. But the fact that Schmidt is a formidable candidate is also seen in the words of Funaro, who has been campaigning for three months and is already involving him in the challenge. “When they formalize it, if they formalize it, there will be an opportunity to discuss many issues,” he said during an event with Secretary Elly Schlein, “I will give a concrete example : we, in the municipal museums, have taken a very important step forward by applying the Federculture contract, therefore by applying the minimum wage for workers: I understand that this has not been done at the Uffizi. In the meantime, I'm going to give him a map of the city so he can start to get to know the suburbs.”
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