Florence, Funaro candidate for mayor for the Democratic Party. But the choice generates controversy

The Florentine Democratic Party has officially nominated the municipal councilor for Welfare, Sara Funaro, as the candidate of the Democratic coalition for the June elections in Florence. “I have always stated that being mayor of Florence must be a dream and not an obsession and that, when you are part of a community, you must respect its democratic rules”, the first words of Funaro, 47 years old, nephew of the former Mayor Piero Bargellini has been the dauphin-designate of outgoing mayor Dario Nardella for months. He will lead a coalition made up of the Italian Left, the Greens, Action, +Europa, the socialists, the Labor Action Movement and Volt.

«It is in this spirit – explains the councilor – that I make myself available: with my history and my commitment, with the strength of our ideas and the actions we have carried out in recent years, in which I have frequently come into contact with the most vulnerable and suffering part of our city. We must start there, placing ourselves at people’s eye level, because the left is useful if it changes the lives of those who need it most. This must be our mission, to recover the beautiful history of our city.” The verdict arrived overnight, at the end of the Florentine PD assembly which approved with 137 votes in favor out of 177 a document that excludes the use of primaries and places Funaro as a candidate of virtue, explains the municipal secretary, Andrea Ceccarelli, «from a widely shared consensus, equal to 74% of people interviewed during the consultations (250 Dem exponents ed.)».

So, after Sardinia, now Florence. The Democratic Party said no to the primaries to choose the mayoral candidate for the Nardella position. It had already happened in recent weeks in Sardinia where, in the name of coalition unity, the Democrats excluded the primaries to support Grillina Alessandra Todde. And Matteo Renzi, leader of Italia Viva, criticized the choice: «In Florence, the Democratic Party renounces the primaries. And he chooses his candidacy by allying himself with the radical left. It will be interesting to read the program about the airport, the stadium, public services. On Saturday we will talk to Stefi Saccardi about why we think differently. But just in another way. We chose to hold the press conference in a free place, Murate. See you on Saturday, a fantastic challenge begins.” Stefania Saccardi, vice-president of the Tuscany Region, could run as a candidate for mayor for Italia Viva, a party that is not part of the coalition that supports Funaro.