Mayoral election

Florence remains in Italian hands

Former Uffizi director Eike Schmidt had to settle for 39.4 percent of the vote and concede defeat.(Bild: Viennareport)

Former Uffizi Gallery director Eike Schmidt has failed in his bid to become the new mayor of Florence. The German from Freiburg, supported by center-right parties, was defeated in the run-off election by the social democratic candidate Sara Funaro.

According to the election results on Monday, Funaro won with 60.6 percent of the vote, while Schmidt had to settle for 39.4 percent. Nevertheless, history was made: Funaro (see picture below) is the first woman to hold the office of mayor in Florence. She dedicated her election victory to her grandfather Piero Bargellini, mayor of Florence in 1966, when an enormous tidal wave destroyed the city center. The city of 382,000 inhabitants has always been considered a stronghold of the Italian center-left. 

Schmidt as the candidate of the post-fascists
Schmidt, who was naturalized last November, was supported by the post-fascist party "Fratelli d'Italia" (Brothers of Italy - FdI) of head of government Giorgia Meloni and her coalition partners, among others. 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. 

Following his defeat in the mayoral run-off election, Schmidt will return to his job as a cultural manager. He is currently director of the renowned Capodimonte Museum in Naples.