Florence ballot, Eike Schmidt: «New stadium at the former Perotti barracks And cultural spaces and startups at the Franchi»

He wants to undermine the power system of a Democratic Party that is “no longer left-wing”. This is how Eike Schmidt, the civic, “centrist” candidate for mayor of the center-right who will try to take Florence in the run-off, presents himself.

Schmidt, is that “the worst right ever” behind you, as the Democratic Party says?
«We are the best center and we are trying to win against the worst Democratic Party ever. The Democratic Party no longer has anything to do with the left, it is a system for preserving power.”

You start 10 points behind Funaro, how will you recover?
«A team that loses the first leg 4-3 must enter the field in the second leg as if starting again from 0-0».

If he becomes mayor, will he have a better chance of obtaining the 200 agents requested from the government?
«First of all we need to reorganize the municipality and only on the basis of this can a true calculation of needs be made. It’s not serious to use Rome as a buck-passer. The Democratic Party talks about perceived insecurity, but the problem is real. And there is a problem of decorum, starting with the Oltrarno churches used as toilets.”

He promised public insurance on “splits”. How much would it cost?
«We are in the order of a few million euros, less than 5».

He changed his mind about the connections and allied himself with RiBella Firenze.
«RiBella Firenze is very rooted in Campo di Marte and we agree with them that the tramway there risks leading to the ecological, social and economic destruction of Viale dei Mille. But we discussed it and they agreed not to say no to the tram, but to support the plan to move it a few hundred meters. A lot can be achieved through dialogue. It would have been interesting to be able to do it with two spin-offs of the Democratic Party: Fd and Iv.”

Have you heard from Renzi?
“Neither seen nor heard.”

Safety, decorum, no to the tram…
«But I don’t say no to the tramway. I’m in favor, I take it often, but I want to correct the design errors. When the Democratic Party says that the tram cannot go underground, I remember that it already goes there, in Viale Guidoni. We need a circle line and an integrated system with trains and buses.”

Is the explosion of Airbnbs a problem? What to do on the front of the house?
«It is a vicious circle favored by the latest councils, we cannot think of addressing only the problem of overnight stays if minimarkets and fast food outlets for tourists can obtain and transfer licenses easily. Then there is a big difference between those who own a few apartments and rent them out, and the often international speculators who buy dozens of houses. I believe that we need to convert large real estate complexes to social housing, not to apartments costing 1,800 euros a month, and I am convinced that a national law is needed to create the homes for tourist accommodation use.”

But the Meloni Government is going in the opposite direction.
«The Government has summoned all the players on this issue: this has never been done before. And since I am running for mayor and not as minister, I announce that each department will be supported by an observatory of associations, citizens and economic operators, to get ideas, suggestions and reports.”

Isn’t it that without the right-wing parties behind him he could have achieved an even better result?
«Someone told me “if you had run with the Democratic Party you would have won in the first round…”».

And if he becomes mayor, will he have free hands on the council?
«My councilors will have to be competent. It will not be forbidden to have a card, but experience will be the most important thing, as in the case of Roberto Sbenaglia. The parties that support me support my centrist program, in some places even left-wing.”

Of left?
«I’m talking about ecology. I’m talking about social issues and the importance of stopping large-scale speculation. And I’m talking about essential services, like water. If the left hypothesizes about listing the multi-utility on the stock exchange, we are at a loss. In many things I am closer to Dmitrij Palagi than to the Democratic Party.”

In case of defeat he will remain in the City Council.
«Yes, it is an activity that can be reconciled with the direction of Capodimonte. And I understood that my battle must be carried on regardless of the result, given the paucity of the proposals of the other party which simply says that I would be supported by ultra-right forces. I would add that I sued councilor Giorgio who claimed that I had people from Casapound on my list.”

You called Funaro a bagman, are you sorry?
“No, it’s a metaphor to say that it represents the continuity of a party power that didn’t want primaries but an indication from above.”

But not even the center-right held the primaries.
“My candidacy did not come from above, but from the Florentines who stopped me in the street.”

Will he keep the responsibility for Culture to himself?
«I want to be mayor, there will be a councilor for culture. And I want to reorganize the departments in a functional way, it is not possible that the works on a street have to be reopened every time because there is no single direction on public works, water, gas. I will combine security and decorum.”

How much does the crane at the Uffizi weigh?
«When I was director, the contracting authority was the Superintendence and not the Galleries. Now, with the last change for roofs and facades, the new director can decide to remove it if he wants. But the mayor, if he had wanted, could have had it removed, because he can designate areas where cranes are not allowed.”

So if he wins, will he issue the order immediately on Tuesday?
«Excellent idea (laughs, ed.). But the first thing I would do is contact the Green director and Minister Sangiuliano, to discuss it with them.”

Could you run for director of the Bargello?
“No, there would be a conflict, it wouldn’t be appropriate.”

How to resolve the Pergola crisis? Or the Museo Novecento, which you don’t appreciate?
«The Museo Novecento is the public that doesn’t appreciate it, doesn’t even know it exists. In Florence the cultural institutions are very badly managed, as happened with May. We spend too much money on production made elsewhere, instead of exporting it. I would like to bring May to the Cascine, as in New York, I would like to give space to emerging artists, take the Botticellis out of the warehouses and exhibit them in the Medici Villas which may become more visited than the castles of the Loire”.

Stadium chapter.
«It’s a big problem that Nardella left to his successors. Since the entire project is not financed, a new stage needs to be thought of. Better if Fiorentina does it, otherwise project financing. I spoke to Defense Minister Crosetto: I spoke to him about the former Ferrucci Barracks in Santo Spirito and he assured me that he will check whether there are elements to review the procedure (for the contested RSA, ed.), on the new stadium he said he was willing to evaluate the hypothesis of the Perotti barracks”.

Then what to do with Franchi?
«My idea is to build spaces for cultural production and incubators for startups. With manufacturers you can review contracts and eliminate or reduce penalties to a minimum.”

However, you were on the commission that said yes to the Franchi project.
«It was a positive aesthetic judgment that I confirm today. But on a political level it’s a completely different question: do we want the minimum wage by bringing a stadium from the 1930s up to standard or do we want a modern facility, with sky boxes and all the comforts?”.

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