Schmidt will not be a typical candidate of the correct. In an interview with the Rome daily 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 celebration 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 celebration’s Fascist roots. “He’s an anomalous candidate with respect to the coalition that may assist him,” mentioned Alessandro Chiaramonte, a professor of political science on the College of Florence, including that its typical voters could be much less prone to vote for “a polyglot man of tradition,” like Schmidt. However, Chiaramonte added, “that may be what appeals to the undecided and centrist voters.”
Throughout his eight years on the Uffizi, Schmidt skillfully constructed a public profile, ceaselessly taking the limelight by weighing into public debates. When vandals defaced a part of the Uffizi museum overlooking the Arno River final summer season, Schmidt rapidly condemned the act, and known as for robust retaliation. “Sufficient with token punishments and fancy extenuating circumstances! We’d like the exhausting fist of the regulation right here,” he mentioned 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 worth added for the correct is that he’s proven to have nice managerial skills,” mentioned Simona Poli, who studies on Florentine politics for La Repubblica. She identified that in previous months, Schmidt had overtly attacked Florence’s center-left mayor, Dario Nardella, on a variety of points, together with safety. “It was nearly like launching a message: ‘If I had been in his place, I’d do higher,’” Poli mentioned.