‘Now we change, we change for the better, more safety, more efficiency, more decorum. Florence must return to being the lighthouse of the world’
It was the former Tenda theater, as it is known by many Florentines, that it became a few months ago Carrara Paper Mill Theatre, to act as a stage for the event launch of Eike Schmidt’s election campaign.
The civic candidate supported by the centre-rightas it calls itself, has officially opened its own race for mayor in front of a packed theatre, decorated with balloons in the colors dear to the city, purple, red and white, with white flags with the red lily in the center distributed to the public.
The reservation on the candidacy was lifted on Saturday 6 April, when theformer director of the Uffizi Gallery, now on leave from the role of director of the Capodimonte museum in Naples, he had made his bid for Palazzo Vecchio official in Piazza della Signoria, asking the centre-right to support him. And the center-right responded to the appeal. Many representatives present in the room this evening, from center-right parties at local and national level, from Giovanni Donzelli to Marco Stella.
Schmidt went on stage to applause around 7pm, with the image of the Florence Cathedral behind him, and the slogan Magnificent Florence. Before his speech, a video with images of Schmidt’s past, his Florentine studies, his wife Roberta, his family, his years as director of the Uffizi, from 2015 to 2023.
“All of Florence must call me Eike. During the years at the Uffizi I often had coffee on the terrace of the Uffizi, I looked at Palazzo Vecchio and the Arnolfo Tower and I became fond of it.”
Schmidt’s speech lasts about ten minutes, in which the candidate touches on various topics, from safety to transportation to Farmhousesfor one of the passages most applauded by those present in the room.
Schmidt starts from culture. “Now we change, we change for the better, more safety, more efficiency, more decorum. Florence must return to being the lighthouse of the world. I would like to be your mayor to administer the city well, I have the dream of making Florence magnificent again! I have a dream to make sure that i young find spaces that are not just for drinking, of make the city a new capital of culture. Without needing to go so far back over the centuries, let’s just think about when a few years ago the Maggio Fiorentino launched the big names in music, before becoming a money-eating sinkhole. We want ours university let it be a source of pride that it has adequate facilities for students, that they exist students, not just fake Student Hotels. We want students in the city, and we don’t want the excesses of nightlife which transformed the residents of the historic center into unheard victims, hostages of degradation, victims of gang battles. Fun and evening life are a joy and a pleasure but without disturbing the peace of those who live in the streets and squares.”
The words on the words were much applauded Farmhouseswhich for Schmidt “they will become our Central Park. The Cascine become the garden of the Florentines and I would like all children to be able to play in the garden without being afraid. We want to go back to walking calmly in the evening in our city, in the main streets as well as in the alleys, in the parks, in the stations, without fear and without looking over our shoulders. Welcome, yes, but never without giving way in terms of safety“.
“We have to relaunch craftsmanship which has made us famous throughout the world for the quality and beauty of our products. The real estate assetsthe historic buildings, must be made available to the citizens, we are tired of seeing these treasures sold off.”
Thunderous applause also on the topic fines. “We are the most fined city in Italy, twice as much as Milan, four times Rome. The municipal police must rediscover its reason for being, it must serve as a deterrent against infringements and not just make money.”
“We must manage the major works, those which concern the nerve centers of Florence, in a manner free from constraints. I am not against the development of public mobility, but I am against outdated technologies that no city in the world would use anymore. No more cutting down trees to make room for forests of poles. To the green urban development must be given greater importance with a serious plan that includes thousands of new trees that must not be allowed to die without water. The most suitable species that do not create large maintenance costs must be carefully chosen, shaded roads in summer drastically reduce the temperature on the ground with enormous environmental benefits”. And a dig at the oranges of via Cavour. “But cosmetic interventions with symbolic and solitary plants are useless.”
“Decay, crime, traffic, uncontrolled invasion of tourists, multifactories, promises of listening, wasted money, absurd funicular projects and floating islands on the Arno, all this must stop. The neighborhoods and all the districts must become safe again and the municipality must return to providing widespread services to citizens from all parts of the city. THE essential services must be decentralized to also allow elderly people or those who are unable to make documents and fill out forms without excessive waiting. The elderly people must be cared for at home, i children they must have more nurseries and after-school programs and at lower costs. You can’t ask for too high fees, just by helping all the families we will fight the birth rate and depopulation and we will once again have Florentines in Florence”.
“Enough with the speculators, come with the investors, we do not close the door to anyone who has good intentions. In eight years the Uffizi has collected thirteen million in donations, imagine what we could achieve if the whole city receives gifts from those who love it and dream of it, and have the means to help us make it even more beautiful. But above all we will be the ones to make it more beautiful, believe me we have all it takes to make Florence magnificent again.”
Schmidt then returned to some topics, answering Mario Tenerani’s questions. “The love for Florence comes from afar, my grandmother took me to Florence when I was eight years old, we saw San Marco, and only on the last day did she take me to the Uffizi. It was the 80s, then in 1994 I wrote the my doctoral thesis and I stayed for seven years. Then after the years in America and England I returned as director of the Uffizi. I lived in Campo di Marte, with a view of the tracks, then in San Frediano, in via del Leone, then in Borgo Tegolaio, now I’m back in Oltrarno, but I have many friends throughout Florence, my brother-in-law lives in Statuto, being an art historian I’ve always traveled around a lot to see the small churches”.
On the safety. “It’s important to take control of the situation with one weekly meeting of all the bodies that deal with safety, but this is not enough, our idea is to establish a permanent observatory on the safety and decorum of the city, to which citizens and associations can report. Security cannot be separated from decorum, just as beauty gives rise to respect, degradation invites crime. At Farmhouses we need a continuous presence of the police in the park, the next step will be to offer commercial, sporting, cultural activities, have many more events, open the Teatro del Maggio towards the park, have activities that make the park alive”.
On the tramway. “We must act for pragmatismwhat has been built cannot be undone in the night like Penelope’s web. A lot of damage has been done, there are scars downtown and outside, what needs to be done is to radically review the plans and review the works not yet contracted. If a certain mileage of tramway has to be built, it can be used to better connect Florence with the Plain, with Prato, it must be integrated with the railway network, we have fifteen stations in Florence but only four are used.” “The airport is a necessity absolute, for many reasons. The runway must be inclined in a different direction so that nearby inhabitants will not suffer from the planes. With a longer runway there is more certainty that we will actually start.”
To close the event the notes of Don’t stop me now by Queen.
Tags: Florence Schmidt launches race mayor fines tramway Farmhouses Central Park
