He Ran the Uffizi. Can He Run Florence?

Schmidt isn’t a typical candidate of the proper. In an interview with the Rome every day La Repubblica final month, Schmidt described himself as a average, a distinction that may enchantment to centrist voters, insisting that he “was and remained antifascist” and “anti-Nazi.”

Brothers of Italy, the occasion Schmidt would run for, was born from the wreckage of Italy’s failed experiment with Fascism, however its present chief, the prime minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, has firmly distanced herself from the occasion’s Fascist roots. “He’s an anomalous candidate with respect to the coalition that would support him,” stated Alessandro Chiaramonte, a professor of political science on the University of Florence, including that its typical voters could be much less prone to vote for “a polyglot man of culture,” like Schmidt. But, Chiaramonte added, “that might be what appeals to the undecided and centrist voters.”

During his eight years on the Uffizi, Schmidt skillfully constructed a public profile, incessantly taking the limelight by weighing into public debates. When vandals defaced part of the Uffizi museum overlooking the Arno River final summer season, Schmidt shortly condemned the act, and known as for powerful retaliation. “Enough with token punishments and fancy extenuating circumstances! We need the hard fist of the law here,” he stated an announcement. He then employed armed guards to watch the outside areas of the museum off hours.

Schmidt additionally performed to social media, posing with celebrities and influencers visiting the museum in entrance of well-known works from the gathering. The consensus is that he ran the Uffizi effectively, renovating a lot of its galleries and boosting the museum’s model.

“The value added for the right is that he’s shown to have great managerial abilities,” stated Simona Poli, who studies on Florentine politics for La Repubblica. She identified that in previous months, Schmidt had brazenly attacked Florence’s center-left mayor, Dario Nardella, on a variety of points, together with safety. “It was almost like launching a message: ‘If I were in his place, I’d do better,’” Poli stated.