For the first time ever in the city of
Florence, foreign residents will be given the opportunity to
have their say in a primary election, which will select the mayoral candidate
from the centre-left coalition. In the upcoming primary elections, scheduled for
February 15, all legal residents of Florence over the age of 16 years are eligible to register and
vote, regardless of nationality or citizenship.
It is an unprecedented opportunity for the English and foreign-speaking
communities of residents in Florence to have their say on the important local
issues facing the city In this campaign, the centre-left coalition has made an
effort to inform and engage the full resident community in helping to choose
the next mayor of Florence. Since the majority of our readers are legal
residents in the city, and thus qualify to vote in the primaries, we think it
is important to introduce and learn more about the five candidates from the
centre-left that will participate in the Florence primaries. See brief profiles of each candidate below.
This is an important moment-even critical-for the future of our city. One of
these candidates may be the next mayor of our city. So get interested, do your
research and make the trip to the polls on February 15 if you qualify to vote.
Let the local decision-makers know what concerns you most as a English and
foreign-speaking member of the resident community of Florence.
CANDIDATE PROFILES
(in order of the ballot)
PARTITO DEMOCRATICO
Name: LAPO PISTELLI
Age: 45 years
Place of birth: Florence
Profession: Politician
and journalist.
Political experience: He began his political career after finishing his university studies. He
was first elected to the local council in 1985. He was city councilman of Florence from 1985 to 1990 and chairman of the education committee
from 1992 to 1995. He was a member of the Italian Parliament from1996 to 2004
and a member of the European Parliament from2004 to 2008. He is a lecturer in
politics at the University of Florence and at Stanford University of Florence.
Political party: Partito Democratico
Campaign slogan: Lapo. Punto e capo. (‘Lapo. Stop and start
again.’).
Website: www.lapopistelli.it. Contains programme details,
full contact information, videos, blog.
Pistelli has extensive political experience both in Italy and abroad. He is often seen as a rather hip
40something who will not hesitate to get behind the turntables or play a
musical instrument to entertain an audience. His platform is close to the
general PD platform. He is a well-known and respected figure in Florence and he takes his role seriously. Some of his promises
include improvements to the urban road network, reductions in car pollution,
increasing public transport and curbing city traffic. Improvements to
infrastructure include the construction of the proposed football stadium,
speedy completion of the Tramvia, and further the development of the airport
and railway network. Pistelli believes in green solutions such as the
construction of a new incinerator for Florence, as does the broader PD platform. The local PD, and
Pistelli in particular, also pledges to carry out the 20-20-20 green plan
proposed by the European Union: a 20 percent reduction in energy consumption, a
20 percent production of energy from renewable resources and a 20 percent
reduction in carbon dioxide gas emissions.
Name: MICHELE VENTURA
Age: 66 years
Place of birth: Sesto Fiorentino (FI)
Profession: Politician.
Political experience: He boasts a long list of federal, regional, provincial and municipal
roles. He was the mayor of Florence from 1985 to 1990. He is currently the shadow minister of the Platform
of Accomplishment in the Italian parliament.
Political party: Partito Democratico
Campaign slogan: Perché Firenze merita di più
(‘Because Florence deserves more’).
Website: www.micheleventura.it.
Contains programme details and
contact information.
Ventura has a long and distinguished career in politics and a proven record in
Palazzo Vecchio: he was mayor from 1985 to 1990. Having made a last-minute
decision to announce his participation in the primaries, Ventura will focus his campaign on 13 main points, the majority of which are
included in the broader PD platform. More specifically, he seeks to improve
public and private investment in banking and credit services, local industry,
artisan, tourism and culture. He supports restoration and maintenance
initiatives in the city and neighborhoods, citing the needed to ignite a ‘new
Florentine renaissance.’
Name: MATTEO RENZI
Age: 33 years
Place of birth: Florence
Profession: Politician
and expert in marketing. Renzi began his political career soon after finishing
secondary school and later formed Chil srl, a direct marketing company.
Political experience: Current president of the Province of Florence (2004-2009)
Political party: Partito Democratico
Campaign slogan: Prima Firenze! (‘Florence First!’)
Website: www.renzi2009.it. Website contains Renzi’s campaign
pledges, favourite songs, videos, photos, blog and full contact details.
Matteo Renzi is the youngest candidate running in the local
primaries and the youngest provincial president in the country. He has enjoyed
much success in this role, having encouraged greener policies throughout the
province and reduced provincial government spending. Renzi plans to govern Florence with the enthusiasm, dynamism and the high-tech savvy
of a younger, yet experienced policy-maker. ‘One hundred percent Florence’ is his list of 100 ways to change Florence for the better, making it ‘simpler, more courageous and
beautiful.’ Perhaps the most significant pledge he has made is to bow out of
politics if he does not win the primary elections. In Renzi’s first 100 days in
office, he would introduce bike sharing, maintain and increase bike racks, and
get the Tramvia back on track so there are no more delays in construction, and
thus no additional costs. Renzi wants Florentine citizens to have free access
to all city museums one day a month, and he wants to launch nighttime openings
of churches, museums and libraries for residents. And if the public thinks he has
missed something, he invites people to leave a post-it on his website or send
him a virtual text message.
Name: DANIELA LASTRI
Age: 50 years
Place of birth: Florence
Profession: Politician.
Political experience: Lastri has worked in local and provincial government since 1990, when
she was first elected to the municipal council, for which she served as
president from 1995 to 1999. Since 1999,
she has played various roles in Palazzo Vecchio, from social services, public
education, youth issues and initiatives, and equal opportunities to professional
training and education for adults.
Political party: Partito Democratico
Campaign slogan: Un sindaco come te (‘A mayor just like you.’)
Website: www.danielalastri.it. Contains programme
details, contact information, photos, blog.
Daniela Lastri hopes to be the first female mayor of Florence. Her political platform is dedicated to the people of
this city, and the focus of her campaign is love-love for Florence. In concrete terms, she aims to improve the city administration
by making it more efficient and transparent. She wants to build on and develop
the city’s cultural network by improving synergies between all cultural
institutions in the city and surrounding areas. She is sensitive to the issues
that women face, from equal career opportunities to services for single and
married mothers. One of her pledges is to increase daycare facilities and
improve municipal services for parents. Lastri wants to make Florence the ‘capital of young people’, where young talent is
cultivated and encouraged and aims for the local and international stage.
LA SINISTRA
Name: EROS CRUCCOLINI
Age: 58 years
Place of birth: Montegabbione in the province of Terni, Umbria.
Profession: Politician and physiotherapist.
Political experience: He began his political career as a student when he attended the
Institute for the Blind on via Nicolodi, Florence. He fought to improve the services offered to the
visually impaired in the city. From 1985 to 2004, he was president of Florence’s Quartiere 1. He was elected president of the Florence city council in 2004, and holds this role today.
Political party: La Sinistra
Campaign slogan: ‘Firenze bella, perché è buona’ (‘A more beautiful Florence for the “good” Florence’).
Website: Cruccolini
does not have a website; those interested can consult his party’s platform at www.lasinistrafirenze.org.
General information: Fifty-five polling stations will be set up
throughout the city on February 15 (to find them, consult www.primariefirenze.it); they will be
open from 8am to
9pm. At the polling station, voters must show an
identity card or driver’s license to cast their ballot and pay one euro to
cover administrative costs. On the ballot, voters must clearly mark on an X in
the circle next to the name of the person they would like to see run for
mayor. The five candidates, from two
centre-left parties, are listed below. The candidate who wins 40 percent of the
votes on February 15 will run for mayor as the centre-left candidate in the
municipal elections, to be held on June 6 and 7, 2009. In the event that one of
the five candidates does not win at least 40 percent of votes, another election
day has been tentatively scheduled for February 22.
