Former Uffizi director Eike Schmidt has failed in his plan to become the new mayor of the city of Florence. The German from Freiburg, who was supported by centre-right parties, was defeated in the second round by the Social Democratic candidate Sara Funaro.
This prevailed with 60.6 percent of the votes, according to Monday’s election results; Schmidt had to settle for 39.4 percent of the votes. Yet history has been made: Funaro (pictured below) is the first woman to take over the mayoral office of Florence. She dedicated her election victory to her grandfather Piero Bargellini, mayor of Florence in 1966, when a huge tidal wave destroyed the city center. The city of 382,000 inhabitants has always been considered a stronghold of the Italian centre-left camp.
Schmidt as a post-fascist candidate
Schmidt, who was naturalized last November, was supported, among others, by the post-fascist party “Fratelli d’Italia” (Brothers of Italy – FdI) led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and its coalition partners. Until last year, the 56-year-old was director of the world-famous Uffizi art museum in the regional capital of the central Italian region of Tuscany.
After the defeat in the second election for mayor, Schmidt returns to his job as cultural manager. He is currently director of the renowned Capodimonte Museum in Naples.
Source: Krone
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